o 


1 


THE  LETTERS  o/ALCUIN 


BY 

ROLPH  BARLOW  PAGE,  A.M., 

Sometime  Fellow  in  European  History  in  Columbia  University 
New  York  City 


SUBMITTED  IN  PARTIAL  FULFILMENT  OF  THE  REQUIREMENTS 

FOR  THE  DEGREE  OF  DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY 

IN  THE 

Faculty  of  Political  Science 
Columbia  University 


1909 


v^^ 


Copyright,  1909,  by  R.  B.  Page 


The  Forest  Press,  New  Tork 


TO  MY  WIFE 


191004 


PREFACE 

The  life  of  Alcuin  has  been  written  many  times ;  and  the 
CaroHngian  Age  in  which  he  played  no  mean  part  has  often 
been  fully  treated.  The  present  work  is  concerned  with 
neither  of  these,  primarily,  yet  both  will  necessarily  be  dis- 
cussed in  some  measure  in  connection  with  its  m.ain  pur- 
pose, which  is  to  determine  how  far  Alcuin's  life  and  works 
mirror  forth  his  age,  and  to  what  extent  they  influenced  the 
events  of  that  time. 

The  author  wishes  to  thank  his  colleagues  in  the  New 
York  High  School  of  Commerce,  Messrs.  Carleton,  Lewis 
and  Wharton,  for  the  valuable  assistance  they  have  given 
him  in  the  final  preparation  of  the  manuscript.  To  Pro- 
fessor James  T.  Shotwell,  at  whose  instance  the  author 
entered  Columbia  University,  he  is  especially  indebted  for 
many  kindnesses  and  for  many  helpful  suggestions  in  the 
writing  and  revising  of  this  work.  His  sincerest  thanks 
are  due  to  Professor  James  Harvey  Robinson,  at  whose 
suggestion  this  work  was  undertaken,  and  without  whose 
encouragement  it  would  never  have  been  completed. 

R.  B.  P. 

New  York  City,  April,  1909. 


CONTENTS        X 
INTRODUCTION 

The  value  of  Alcuin's  letters  as  sources  for  the  age  of 
Charles  the  Great — Alcuin's  early  life  and  career  in  Eng- 
land; his  birth  and  education  at  York — His  teaching  at 
York — His  pilgrimage  to  Rome — Meeting  with  Charles 
the  Great  and  invitation  to  Frankland— Master  of  the 
Palace  School — Alcuin  returns  to  England  to  make  peace 
between  Charles  the  Great  and  Offa,  king  of  Mercia — His 
return  to  Frankland ;  opposition  to  Adoptionism  and  Image- 
Worship — Abbot  of  Tours ;  his  quarrel  with  Theodulph  of 
Orleans  and  King  Charles — His  restoration  to  favor  and 
peaceful  death. 

CHAPTER  I 

alcuin's  theological  role 

The  general  nature  of  Alcuin's  theology;  his  attitude 
towards  the  Church  Fathers — His  struggle  against  the 
Adoptionists ;  dogmatic  works  against  the  latter ;  nature 
and  origin  of  Adoptionism ;  course  of  the  struggle ;  its  sig- 
nificance. Other  dogmatic  works — Part  played  by  Alcuin 
in  the  controversies  over  filioque  and  Image-Worship — 
Exegetical  works  of  Alcuin;  their  nature  and  purpose — 
The  Commentaries ;  his  method  of  interpretation ;  influence 
and  importance  of  his  exegetical  works — Moral  and  bio- 
graphical works;  their  lack  of  originality — Conclusion. 

5 


6  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  II 

SOCIAL  AND   POLITICAL   CONDITIONS 

The  Papacy  as  portrayed  by  Alcuin;  its  difficulties,  its 
weakness — Relations  with  the  Prankish  power — The 
Prankish  Church  and  Charles  the  Great;  his  ecclesiastical 
policy  and  reforms ;  Alcuin's  influence  upon  these — The 
Empire;  Alcuin's  conception  of  it — Social  conditions  in 
Prankland  in  Alcuin's  day — The  clergy,  princes  and  com- 
mon people — Social  conditions  in  England ;  internal  strife ; 
devastations  by  the  Northmen — Remedial  measures — 
Conclusion. 

CHAPTER  III 

ALCUIN  AS  A  TEACHER 

General  condition  of  learning  in  the  seventh  and  eighth 
centuries — The  educational  aims  of  Alcuin  and  Charles — 
Lack  of  schools,  teachers  and  books;  a  mediaeval  librar}' — 
The  sclTools  of  Charles  the  Great — Alcuin  and  the  Palace 
School — The  subjects  taught;  the  Seven  Liberal  Arts; 
Alcuin's  educational  works — Alcuin's  attitude  toward  the 
classics ;  his  literary  style,  methods  and  discipline — Results 
and  conclusions. 


INTRODUCTION 

In  the  following  pages  an  attempt  will  be  made  to  form 

an  estimate  of  some  of  the  more  important  phases  of  the 

work  of  Alcuin,  from  the  traces  which  have  come  down  to 

us  in  his  own  works  and  in  those  of  the  men  with  whom  he 

came  most  in  contact.     The  principal   source  used  is  his 

correspondence  supplemented  by  his  other  works,  dogmatic, 

exegetical,  moral  and  didactic.     Where  these  have  proved 

inadequate,  further  evidence  has  been  sought  in  the  Caro- 

lingian  Capitularies  and  other  contemporary  sources.     The 

correspondence  of  Alcuin,  as  preserved,  includes  not  merely 

his  own  letters,  but  the  replies  of  others,  and  sO'  especially 

commends  itself  by  reason  of  its  scope  and  nature.     In  all, 

there  are  in  the  collection  three  hundred  and  eleven  letters,^ 

(i)  For  the  earlier  editions  of  Alcuin's  correspondence  see 
Potthast,  Wegweiser,  p.  34.  A  modern  and  very  excellent  edition  is  the 
one  prepared  by  Jaffe,  and  published  by  Wattenbach  and  Dnemmler 
in  1873  in  the  sixth  volume  of  the  Bibliotheca  Rerum  Germanicanim. 
This  has  a  decided  advantage  over  the  preceding  editions  in  that  it 
has  incorporated  with  the  306  letters  which  it  contains  the  three  most 
valuable  sources  for  the  life  of  Alcuin.  These  are,  the  Vita  Alchuini 
Aiictore  anonyDW,  probably  written  by  Sigulfus  (cf.  Jaffe  op.  cit.  p.  i), 
and  the  Vita  Sancti  Willibrordi,  and  Versus  de  Sanctis  Eboraccnsis 
Ecclesia,  written  by  Alcuin  himself.  However,  in  view  of  the  investiga- 
tions of  Sickel,  and  of  Duemmler  himself,  the  edition  was  soon  in 
need  of  revision  so  far  as  the  arrangement  of  the  letters  was  concerned. 
Moreover,  though  the  editors  had  heartily  approved  of  the  major  part  cf 
the  work  prepared  by  their  dead  friend  Jaffe,  it  had  not  been  entirely 
satisfactory  to  them.  Accordingly,  Duemmler  prepared  a  new  edition 
which  was  published  in  1895  in  the  Mouitmcnta  Gcrmanicc  Historica, 
Epistolarum,  Volume  IV,  pps.  1-493.  It  is  based  very  largely  on  that 
of  Jaffe,  but  it  rejects  one  or  two  untrustworthy  sources  used  by  the 
latter.  Duemmler  has  also  revised  the  dates  of  many  of  the  letters 
and  has  rearranged  the  whole  correspondence.  Moreover,  while  omit- 
ting six  of  the  letters  inserted  in  tlie  edition  of  Jaffe  he  has  made 
considerable  additions  to  four  others,  (Epp.  3,  28,  49,  145)  and  has 
incorporated  in  his  own  edition  eleven  letters  which  were  not  known 
to  JafTe  or  rejected  by  him.     It  is  to  this  edition  that  references  will 


8  INTRODUCTION 

penned  by  the  choicest  spirits  of  the  age,  among  them  such 
men  as  Angilbert,  Adalhard,  Leidrad,  ThemUilph.  Bene- 
dict of  Aniane,  Pauhnus,  Arno  and  Charles  the  Great  him- 
self. As  an  intimate  friend  and  zealous  co-laborer  with 
these  in  an  endeavor  to  elevate  the  whole  Prankish  people 
to  the  level  of  that  civilization  which  still  lingered  on  in 
some  of  the  more  fortunate  places  of  the  realm.  Alcuin's 
correspondence  with  each  and  all  of  them  is  well-nigh  in- 
dispensable to  those  who  would  obtain  a  proper  concep- 
tion of  the  political  and  social  history  of  his  day.  Therein 
the  whole  inner  life  of  the  Carolingian  Age  is  reflected  for 
our  inspection.  The  Prankish  nobility,  as  Alcuin  knew  it 
at  the  court  and  in  the  Palace  School,  vigorous,  but  un- 
tutored; the  Prankish  clergy,  unorganized,  vitiated  by 
ignorance  and  sloth,  impelled  to  reform  by  the  genius  of  its 
king;  the  struggling  Papacy,  beset  by  foes  within  and  with- 
out ;  barbarian  peoples  accepting  Christianity  and  civiliza- 
tion at  the  point  of  the  sword ;  a  great  Christian  empire 
in  the  making — all  these  stand  out  in  the  correspondence 
of  Alcuin  in  a  way  that  is  most  illuminating.  Moreover, 
an  especial  significance  and  value  attaches  to  Alcuin's 
letters,  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  he  regards  himself  as  a 
mentor  and  father-confessor  to  the  foremost  people  of  his 
time.  He  assumed  to  write  with  the  confidence  of  a  pope 
to  every  region,  parish,  province  and  state  of  his  world, 
exhorting  and  admonishing  the  people  after  the  fashion  of 
the  holy  fathers.^    As  a  matter  of  fact,  there  is  scarcely  a 

be  made  in  these  pages.  See  also.  Sickel,  Th.,  Alcuinstudicn  in 
Sitzungsberichte  der  Philosophisch-Historischcn  Classe  dcr  Wiener 
Akademie.  Vol.  LXXIX.  Sybcl's  Historischc  Zritsclirift.  Vol.  XXXII, 
pp.  352-365.  Duenmilcr  E..  Zur  Lcbciisgcschichtc  Alcuins  in  Neucs 
Archiv,  Vol.  XVIII.  pp.  51-70.  Diieniniler,  E.,  Introduction  to  Alcuin's 
Letters,  M.  G.  H.,  Epistolariim,  Vol.  IV,  pp.   i  ct  scq. 

(i)  "Et  littcris  sub  eius  (papac)  sancli  nominis  auctoritate  per 
diversas  niundi  rcgiones  populos  parrochias  civitates  et  provincias 
hortari ;  ct  catholicae  fidei  rationes  plurioribus  exponere  personis." 
Ep    179. 


INTRODUCTION  9 

question  of  the  day  of  any  importance  in  church  or  state 
on  which  Alcuin  does  not  express  an  opinion.     It  is  hisj 
sense    of    varied .   personal     responsibihty     which     makes  | 
his    letters    so    rich    in    material,    and    therefore    so    valu- 
able a  supplement  to  the  other  scanty  sources  for  this  time. 

The  data  for  the  life  of  Alcuin  are  very  scanty.  The 
exact  time  of  his  birth  cannot  be  fixed ;  but  it  would  appear 
that  he  was  born  in  Northumbria  between  the  years  730  and 
735  A.  D.^  According  to  the  statement  of  his  biographer, 
he  was  of  noble  birth,-  and  he  himself  claimed  that  he  v;as 
related  t(\  St.  Willibrord's  father,  a  nobleman  of  Northum- 
bria.^ His  early  life,  according  to  his  own  testimony,  was 
spent  in  the  monastery  at  York,  where  he  was  most  kindly 
treated  by  his  masters,  Egbert  and  Aelbert.*  Here,  in  com- 
pany with  other  youths  of  noble  birth,  he  was  instructed 
by  the  good  Aelbert  in  all  the  learning  of  the  Seven  Liberal 
Arts.*^  He  evinced  the  liveliest  interest  in  his  studies, 
especially  in  Virgil,  and  soon  became  the  best  pupil  in  the 
school.  As  such  he  was  the  recipient  of  an  unusually 
large  share  of  that  affection  which  his  master  Aelbert  was 
wont  to  lavish  on  all  his  pupils. 

Consequently,  when  Aelbert  made  a  pilgrimage  to  Rome, 

after  the  fashion  of  scholars  of  the  time,  to  find  something 

new  in  the  way  of  books  and  studies,®  he  v/as  accompanied 

(i)  Frobenius,  Mabillon  and  Lorentz,  whom  most  of  the  later 
biographers  follow,  state  that  Alcuin's  birth  could  not  have  occurred 
earlier  than  735 ;  Duemmler,  on  the  other  hand,  argues  that  Alcuin  was 
probably  born  about  730.  Cf.  Lorentz  Alktiin.  p.  9:  Duemmler,  E.,  Znr 
Lebensgeschichte  Alchuins  in  Gesellschaft  fiir  altere  Deutsche  Ge- 
schichtskunde,  Neues  Archiv,  Vol.  XVIII,  1893,  p.  54 

(2)  Vita  Alchuini  Auctore  anonymo,  chap,  i,  apud  Jaffe,  Biblotheca 
Rerum  Germanicarum,  Vol.  VI,  p.  6. 

(3)  Vita  Sancti  Willibrordi,  chap.  i.  Jafife,  op.  cit.,  pp.  40,  41,  76. 
Epp.  20.   19,  43,  47. 

(4)  Ep.  42.  Versus  de  SS.  Ebor.  Eccles.  op.  cit.,  vv.  1648-1652.  Cf. 
Epp.  114,  121,  116,  143,  148. 

(5)  Versus  de  SS.  Ebor.  Eccles.  op.  cit.,  vv.  1430-1452,  1515,  1522, 
1530. 

(6)  "Hie  quoque  Romuleam  venit  devotus  ad  urbem."  Versus  de 
SS.  Ebor.  Eccles.  op.  cit.,  vv.  1457,  1458.     Cf.     "Quos   (libellos)   habui 


10  INTRODUCTION 

by  his  favorite  pupil,  Alcuin.  The  two  Anglo-Saxon 
monks,  master  and  pupil,  passed  through  Frankland,  and 
such  was  the  impression  made  upon  the  latter  that  he  de- 
sired to  remain  with  the  Alsatian  monks  of  Murbach.^ 
Though  Alcuin  dismisses  the  subject  of  his  sojourn  in 
Rome  with  a  short  but  reverential  mention,^  there  is  little 
room  to  doubt  that  the  ancient  home  of  the  Caesars  made 
a  great  impression  upon  him.  Their  journey  had  some 
noteworthy  incidents ;  at  Pavia,  ^ley  heard  Peter  of  Pisa 
hold  a  disputation  with  a  certain  Lullus,  and  later  on  they 
met  King  Charles  himself.^ 

On  their  return  to  York,  Alcuin  continued  to  aid  Aelbert 
in  the  work  of  the  school.  Soon  a  change  came;  Aelbert 
succeeded  to  the  archbishopric  on  the  death  of  Egbert  in 
766,  while  Alcuin  became  master  of  the  school,  and  was 
given  express  care  of  the  books,  those  invaluable  treasures 
which  he  and  his  master  had  been  at  such  infinite  pains  to 
collect.*  Alcuin's  reputation  as  a  teacher  and  scholar 
attracted  many  pupils  to  his  school  at  York.  Among  these 
were  some  from  abroad,  and  others  whom  he  frequently 
mentions  in  his  letters.^  He  taught  them  what  he  himself 
had  studied,  namely,  the  Seven  Literal  Arts.®  Like 
Aelbert,  he  was  a  successful  teacher ;  his  pupils  ever  remem- 
bered him  with  gratitude  and  affection.  Indeed,  at  this 
stage  of  his  career,  his  lines  were  cast  in  pleasant  places, 
and  later  he  speaks  of  this  period  of  his  life  with  regret. 

in  patria  per  bonam  et  devotissimain  magistri  mci  industriam  vel  etiam 
mei  ipsius  qualemcumque  sudorem,"  Ep.  121.  Cf.  Alcuin's  Epitaph  on 
Aelbert,  M.  G.  H.  Poet.  Lat.  Med.  Aev.  I  p.  206. 

(i)  Epp  172,  271.  (2)  Versus  dc  SS.  Ebor.  Ecclcs.  op.  cit.,  vv. 
1457,  1458.     (3)     Ep.  172. 

(4)  Vita  Alchuini,  op.  cit.,  ^lap.  5.     Cf.     Ep.   121. 

(5)  Among  these  were  Eanbald,  the  Second,  Archbishop  of  York, 
and  Sigiilfus,  who  followed  him  to  France.  Oiief  among  those  from 
abroad  were  Liudger,  and  .Mbert.  sent  from  Gregory  of  Frisia.  Vita 
Alchuini  op.  cit..  chap.  11.  Cf.  Vita  S.  Liudgcri,  M.  G.  H.  SS.  II,  p. 
407.     Cf.    Epp.  112.  290. 

(6)  Versus  dc  SS.  Ebor.  Eccles.  op.  cit.,  vv.  153S-1561. 


INTRODUCTION  U 

When  not  engaged  in  teaching,  he  spent  his  leisure  time 
with  his  old  master,  Aelbert,  whom  he  honored  as  a  scholar 
and  loved  as  a  father/  When  Aelbert  died  in  788  A.  D., 
Alcuin  mourned  him  with  the  most  touching  sorrow,  and 
it  may  be,  as  one  of  his  biographers  suggests,  that  the  death 
of  his  old  master  was  one  of  the  factors  which  determined 
him  to  go  to  Frankland. 

In  781  he  went  to  Rome  to  obtain  the  pallium  for  Ean- 
bald."  During  the  journey  he  met  Charles  at  Parma,  was 
invited  to  make  his  home  in  Frankland,  and,  after  hesitat- 
ing until  he  should  obtain  the  consent  of  his  archbishop 
and  of  his  king,  he  betook  himself  with  their  permission 
to  the  palace  of  Charles  at  Aachen  in  782.  Here  he  received 
a  warm  welcome  from  the  king,^  and  was  shortly  after 
given  charge  of  certain  abbeys.* 

The  motive  which  induced  Alcuin  to  leave  England  was 
probably  not  so  much  the  death  of  his  beloved  master  as 
his  recognition  of  the  fact  that  conditions  there  were 
far  from  conducive  to  the  advancement  of  learning.^ 
And  then  it  must  be  remembered  that  Frankland  had  a 
great  fascination  for  our  English  scholar.  He  was  an  en- 
thusiastic admirer  of  Charles,  whom  he  regarded  not  only 
as  the  defender  of  the  Church,  but  as  a  mighty  conqueror 
extending  his  conquests  to  enlarge  the  domain  of  civiliza- 
tion. Again,  Frankland  offered  a  splendid  opportunity  for 
work  as  well  as  for  glory.  The  monasteries  had  been  de- 
stroyed or  their  property  devastated ;  learning  had  decreased 

(i)  Ep  148,  p.  239.  Cf.  Versus  de  SS.  Ebor.  Eccles.  op.  cit.,  vv. 
1589-1595-. 

(2)  Vita  Alchuini  op.  cit.,  chap.  5,  p.  17.  Cf.  authorities  quoted  in 
Jaffe  VI.  op.  cit.,  p.  17,  note  I. 

(3)  Vita  Alchuini  op.  cit.,  chap.  5,  p.  17.  Cf.  Einhard,  Vita  Caroli 
impcratoris,  chap.  25,  M.  G.  H.  SS.  II.  p.  456:  Theodulph  Carmen  25, 
Ad  Carolum  Regem,  vv.  131-140,  M.  G.  H.  Poet.  Lat.  Med.  Aev.  Vol. 
I.  p.  486. 

(4)  Epp.  153,  154,  232. 

(5)  Epp.  loi,  102,  109,  122. 


12  INTRODUCTION 

from  generation  to  generation;  the  very  language  had  been 
debased ;  the  manuscripts,  even  those  relating  to  the  saints, 
had  been  neglected  or  mutilated.  Alcuin,  as  might  have 
been  expected,  seems  to  have  regarded  his  mission  to 
Frankland  as  an  apostleship  of  religion,  rather  than  of 
learning.  "I  have  not  come  to  Frankland,"  he  says,  "nor 
remained  there  for  love  of  money,  but  for  the  sake  of  re- 
ligion and  the  strengthening  of  the  Catholic  faith. "^* 

Alcuin's  first  and  most  important  work  in  Frankland 
was  to  act  as  Charles'  chief  co-laborer  in  the  restoration 
of  letters — a  herculean  task,  the  consummation  of  which 
the  king  regarded  as  second  only  to  the  maintenance  of  the 
kingdom  itself.  For  this  task,  Alcuin  was  eminently  fitted 
by  his  learning,  his  affiliations  with  the  church,^  and  a1x)ve 
all,  by  his  practical  turn  of  mind  and  his  admiration  for 
the  genius  and  plans  of  King  Charles.  He  began  his  work 
by  teaching  the  Seven  Liberal  Arts  in  the  Palace  School. 
The  pupils  were  the  youths  of  the  court,  young  men  des- 
tined for  high  office  in  church  and  state.  Charles,  himself, 
and  his  elders  were  wont  to  participate  in  the  discussions, 
when  the  affairs  of  state  were  not  too  urgent.^ 

His  position  as  master  of  the  Palace  School  was  no  sine- 
cure. He  had  a  mixed  class,  old  and  young,  men  and 
wom.en ;  all  of  them  curious,  eager,  insistent,  plying  him 
with  questions  that  at  times  must  have  been  most  discon- 
certing. Not  the  least  of  his  difficulties  was  that  his  pupils 
gloried  in  the  martial  supremacy  of  their  race,  and  could 

(i)  Epp.  178,  198,  171,  41,  217,  43.  Cf.  Alcuin's  Adversus  Elipandiim, 
bk.  I,  chap.  16,  Migne  CCI.  p.  251. 

(2)  His  biographer  states  that  though  he  had  never  taken  vows,  yet 
he  lived  a  life  no  less  self-denying  than  the  most  strict  adherent  of 
the  Benedictine  Rule.  Cf.  Vita  Alchuini  op.  cit.,  chap  8.  In  this 
connection  see  Gaskoin's  article  "Was  Alcuin  a  Monk?"  Appendix  i 
Gaskoin  "Alcuin"  pp.  249-252;  Hauck,  Kirchcngcschichtc  Dcutschlands, 
II.  p.  125,  note  I. 

(3)  Einhard,  Vita  Caroli  impcratoris,  chap.  25,  M.  G.  H.  SS.  II.  pp. 
456-457. 


INTRODUCTION  13 

ill  brook  the  intellectual  supremacy  of  their  Saxon  master; 
at  times,  they  drove  him  to  seek  the  protection  of  Charles 
from  their  jealous  levity/  Nor  was  this  all.  Alcuin  was 
wearied  by  the  frequent  journeyings  of  the  court,  by  the 
excitement  of  successive  wars,  and  by  the  care  of  the  abbeys 
entrusted  to  his  charge.  He  was  discouraged  at  times  by 
the  lack  of  books,  and  his  righteous  soul  was  vexed  by  the 
lax  morals  of  the  court.^ 

In  view  of  these  circumstances,  the  Prankish  court 
could  have  no  permanent  attraction  for  Alcuin,  He  had 
been  practically  a  recluse  in  England,  was  already  past 
middle  age,  and  must  have  longed  for  retirement  and  re- 
pose. He  sought  it  in  England,  whither  he  returned  in 
790,  probably  intending  to  end  his  days  as  the  abbot  of  a 
small  monastery  on  the  banks  of  the  Humber.  His  hopes 
were  not  to  be  realized;  he  found  himself  more  than  ever 
embroiled  in  secular  matters.  In  the  first  place,  he  had  to 
act  as  peacemaker  between  Charles  and  Offa,  king  of 
Mercia,  whose  relations  with  each  other  had  become 
seriously  strained.^  Upon  his  arrival  at  York,  he  effected 
a  reconciliation  between  these  two  potentates,*  but  he  found 
that  the  political  conditions  in  his  native  state  of  Northum- 
bria  were  such  as  to  preclude  all  idea  of  repose  or  study. 
Despairing  of  accomplishing  anything  in  England,  he  be- 
gan to  think  once  more  of  returning  to  France,  Accord- 
ingly, when  Charles  called  upon  him  for  aid  in  combating 
the  heresy  of  Adoptionism,  he  set  out  again  for  Aachen.^ 
This  was  in  792,  and,  much  as  Alcuin  loved  his  native  land, 
he  was  never  destined  to  return  to  its  shores. 

(i)     Carmen,  42,  M.  G.  H.  Poet.  Lat.  Med.  Aev.  I.  p.  254. 

(2)  Vita  Alchuini,  op.  cit.,  chaps.  6,  8.     Cf.    Epp.  121,  80,  244. 

(3)  Vita  Alchuini,  op.  cit.,  chaps.  6,  8.  Cf.  Epp.  53,  150,  155, 
121,  80. 

(4)  Ep.  244.  (5)  Cf.  Duemmler,  Zur  Lebensgeschichte  Alchuim, 
op.  cit.  Neues  Archiv.  Vol.  XVIII,  p.  62,  note  ^4:  Hauck,  op.  cit., 
Vol.  II,  p.   123.     Vita  Alchuini,  op.   cit.,  chap.  6. 


14  INTRODUCTION 

After  his  arrival  in  Frankland,  Alciiin  wrote  several 
letters  to  the  leaders  of  that  Adoptionist  heresy  which  he 
had  returned  to  oppose.  Neither  these,  nor  the  treatises 
which  he  wrote  a  little  later,  proved  effectual  in  stemming 
the  tide  of  heresy.  Soon  after,  however,  at  the  Council  of 
Frankfort  in  794,  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  silencing  the 
Bishop  of  Urgel,  one  of  the  chief  protagonists  of  Adop- 
tionism.^  And  it  was  a  source  of  no  little  gratification  to 
him  that  the  works  which  he  had  written  against  Adop- 
tionism  were  used  as  a  weapon  by  the  commission  which 
succeeded  in  uprooting  that  'pestilent'  heresy  in  Spain.' 
Just  how  much  he  had  to  do  with  the  controversy  over 
image-worship  which  came  up  at  the  same  Council  of  Frank- 
fort, is  a  matter  of  debate;  but  it  is  very  probable  that  he 
assisted  Charles  in  writing  his  protests  to  the  Papacy 
against  the  doctrine  of  image-worship.' 

It  was  perhaps  as  a  reward  for  his  meritorious  services, 
that  Charles  made  him  Abbot  of  Tours  in  796.*  It  is  evi- 
dent that  he  did  not  seek  this  honor.  Some  time  before, 
indeed,  anxious  to  be  entirely  free  from  all  further  partici- 
pation in  secular  affairs,  he  had  requested  the  king  to  allow 
him  to  retire  to  Fulda,  but  Charles  set  him  over  Tours  in 
order  to  reform  the  monks  and  re-establish  learning  there. 
Here  he  was  destined  to  spend  the  remainder  of  his  days, 
disciplining  the  monks,  administering  the  great  possessions 

(i)    Epp.  73,  23,  207,  208. 

(2)  "Quos  nostra  parvitas,  quantum  potuit,  scriptis  ecclesiasticis 
adiuvabat ;  maxime  eo  libello,  quem  nuper  edidimus  contra  libellum 
illius  Felicis."    Ep.  207.     Cf.     Epp.  208,  200. 

(3)  As  is  well  known,  he  brought  a  memorial  against  the  Nicene 
Decrees  to  Charles  from  the  bishops  and  princes  of  England.  Autiales 
Nordhumbrani,  M.  G.  H.  SS.,  op.  cit..  Vol.  XIII,  p.  155,  note  3.  Cf. 
Hauck,  op.  cit.,  Vol.  II,  pp.  324,  330:  Hefele,  ConcilieHgcscliichte,  Vol. 
III.,  pp.  651-673. 

(4)  Vita  Alchuitti,  op.  cit.,  chap.  6.  Cf.  Epp.  loi,  247,  121,  143,  172. 
Afwalcs  Laurisscnscs  Minores,  M.  G.  H.  SS.  I,  p.  119. 


INTRODUCTION  15 

of  the  abbey,  teaching-  in  the  school^  and  writing  to  his 
friends  when  his  multifarious  duties  permitted. 

In  the  meantime,  events  were  happening  on  the  conti- 
nent which  gave  Alcuin  an  excellent  opportunity  for  the 
exercise  of  his  self-imposed  task  of  mentor.  In  the 
first  place,  the  crusade  against  the  heresy  of  Adoption- 
ism,  begun  at  the  Councils  of  Narbonne,  Ratisbon  and 
Frankfort,  was  still  being  vigorously  prosecuted  in  Spain 
by  a  commission  which  Charles  had  appointed  for  that 
purpose.  Alcuin  became  the  head  and  centre  of  the 
attack  upon  this  heresy.  Such  leaders  of  the  orthodox 
party  as  Leidrad  of  Lyons,  Nefridius  of  Narbonne,  and 
Benedict  of  Aniane  sought  the  aid  of  his  counsel  and  of 
his  pen."  Then  the  attack  of  the  Roman  mob  upon  Pope 
Leo  III  roused  him,  and  he  called  upon  Charles  to  aid  the 
Pope  and  chastise  his  enemies.^  Furthermore,  there  was 
the  coronation  of  Charles  as  emperor.  Alcuin  wrote  con- 
gratulating him  upon  his  accession  to  the  imperial  dignity, 
and  offered  as  a  worthy  tribute  'to  the  new  imperial  power* 
a  beautiful  copy  of  the  Gospels.* 

Not  a  little  of  Alcuin's  time  at  Tours  was  spent  in  wri- 
ting commentaries  on  the  Bible.  In  addition  to  the  revision 
of  the  Scriptures  which  he  prepared  at  Charles'  request,' 
he  commented  upon  a  number  of  the  books,  both  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testament.®     Thus,  teaching,  writing,  cor- 

(i)  Duemmler,  Zur  Lebensgeschichte  Alcuins,  op.  cit.,  Neues  Archiv. 
Vol.  XVIII,  p.  67.  Cf.  Vita  Alchnini,  op.  cit.,  chap.  8.  Cf.  Epp. 
loi,  247,  146,  150. 

(2)  Epp.  149,  207,  208. 

(3)  Ep.  174.  Cf.  Ep.  179,  wherein  he  exhorts  his  friend  Arno  to 
chairrpion  the  Pope's  cause. 

(4)  "Sed  quaerenti  mihi  et  consideranti  nihil  dignius  pacatissimo 
honori  vestro  inveniri  posse  [videbatur]  quam  divinorum  munera 
librorum."     Ep.  261.     Cf.     Epp.  262,  217. 

(5)  "Totius  forsitan  evangelii  expositionem  direxerim  vobis,  si  me 
non  occupasset  domni  regis  praeceptum  in  emendatione  veteris  novique 
testamenti."     Ep.  195.     Cf.     Epp.  196,  209,  213,  214. 

(6)  Epp.  261,  262.     Cf.  Vita  Alchnini,  op.  cit.,  chap.  12. 


16  INTRODUCTION 

responding,  did  Alcuin  spend  many  useful,  happy  hours; 
and  we  can  readily  believe  that  he  would  fain  have  em- 
ployed all  his  time  in  this  way;  he  never  speaks  with 
pleasure  of  the  broad  acres  which  his  abbey  ruled  and 
owned,  though  he  delighted  in  dispensing  his  hospitality 
to  the  numerous  guests  who  were  attracted  there  by  reason 
of  its  wealth  and  its  reputation.^  However,  with  advanc- 
ing age,  the  secular  duties  which  his  office  entailed  proved 
more  and  more  irksome  to  him.  "We  are  well-nigh  over- 
whelmed by  the  burden  of  worldly  affairs  and  the  respon- 
sibilities of  wealth,"  he  writes  to  Arno.^  Other  letters 
written  at  this  stage  of  his  career  are  eloquent  of  his  desire 
to  have  done  with  the  active  affairs  of  this  world.  Sickness 
and  feebleness  oppressed  him  and  he  longed  for  rest.* 
Even  the  kind  attentions  of  the  king  failed  to  rouse  him; 
and  though  the  latter  tried  to  induce  him  to  visit  the  palace, 
he  preferred  to  remain  amid  the  'smoky  roofs  of  Tours.' 
In  a  touching  letter  to  Charlemagne,  he  plead  with  him 
to  be  allowed  to  retire,  and  when  his  request  was  granted, 
he  expressed  his  satisfaction  again  and  again  to  his  most 
intimate  friends.* 

Unfortunately,  the  peaceful  close  which  Alcuin  contem- 
plated was  not  yet  to  be  his,  for  a  most  unhappy  quarrel 
with  his  friend  Theodulph,  Bishop  of  Orleans,  came  to  sad- 
den his  last  days.  It  seems  that  Alcuin  gave  asylum  to  a 
certain  delinquent  whom  Theodulph  had  tried  and  im- 
prisoned, A  quarrel  ensued,  and  both  of  them  appealed 
to  Charles.  To  Alcuin's  great  sorrow,  the  emperor  not 
only  sided  with  Theodulph,  but,  angered  at  Alcuin's 
temerity  in  opposing  his  authority,  cast  aspersions  on  the 
monks  of  St.   Martin's,  even  hinting  that  Alcuin's  disci- 

(l)  On  one  occasion  in  800  A.  D.,  Charles  honored  him  with  a 
visit.    £/>.  165.     (2)    Epf.  53.  150.  156,  159.  167,  70,  113. 

(3)  Epp.  192,  229,  238,  253,  254,  240.  266. 

(4)  EfP-  178,  170.     Cf.    Epp.  237,  233,  234,  235,  239,  240. 


INTRODUCTION  17 

pline  must  have  been  lax.^  However,  it  is  pleasing  to  note 
that  Charles  forgave  him,  partially  at  least,  and  cheered 
his  declining  years  with  some  marks  of  his  favor.  The 
former  intimacy  was  renewed;  Charles  wrote  asking  for 
explanations  of  his  difficulties  in  theology  and  as- 
tronomy, and  Alcuin  showed  his  keen  appreciation  by 
dedicating  to  him  most  of  his  exegetical  works  written  at 
that  time.^  Furthermore,  agreeable  to  Alcuin's  wish,  the 
emperor  appointed  Fridugis  as  his  successor,  and  invited 
Alcuin  himself  again  and  again  to  the  court.  These  invi- 
tations were  humbly  but  firmly  declined,  the  old  scholar 
pleading  the  infirmities  of  age.'  A  little  later,  a  year  or 
more  before  his  death,  he  took  a  dignified  and  pathetic  fare- 
well of  Charles,  thanking  him  for  all  his  kindness  and  re- 
minding him  of  the  importance  of  preparing  for  death  and 
the  judgment.  About  the  same  time  he  wrote  to  Pope  Leo 
III,  asking  him  to  pardon  his  sins.*  As  he  neared  the  end 
of  life,  he  was  filled  with  a  strange  dread  of  death.  "I 
tremble  with  terror  at  the  thought  of  the  Judgment  Day," 
says  he,  "lest  it  find  me  unprepared."^  He  expressed  a 
desire  that  he  might  die  on  Pentecost,  and  yearned 
with  an  intense  longing  to  be  buried  by  the  side  of  St. 
Boniface  at  Fulda.  He  was  far  too  weak  to  admit  of  his 
being  taken  to  Fulda;  but  part  of  his  wish  was  fulfilled, 
for  his  life  went  out  in  a  beautiful  close  just  as  the  matins 
had  been  sung  on  Whitsunday,  May  19th,  804  A.  D.^ 

(i)  _  When  Theodulph  demanded  that  the  delinquent  be  delivered 
into  his  hands,  he  seems  to  have  been  acting  as  a  missus  of  the  king. 
E^.  247.     Cf.    Epp.  245,  249. 

(2)  Epp.  257,  261,   306,   136,   304.     Cf.    Ep.  242,  edition   of  Jaffe, 

(3)  Epp.  178,  238,  239,  240,  241. 

(4)  Epp.  234,  238. 

(5)  Epp.  239,  252,  242,  266. 

(6)  Vita  Alchuini,  op.  cit.,  chaps.  14,  15.  Ad  Annales  Petavianos, 
M.  G.  H.  SS.,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  170. 


CHAPTER  I 
alcuin's  theological  role 

To  the  historian  of  dogma,  the  CaroHngian  Age  does 
not  offer  much,  unless  he  wishes  to  study  the  appropria- 
tion of  old  and  familiar  material  rather  than  the  evolution 
of  new  doctrines.  For  the  first  creative  period  of  Chris- 
tianity, after  it  had  come  under  the  influence  of  Greek 
philosophy,  was  much  anterior  to  that  age;  nor  had  it  yet 
entered  upon  its  second  phase,  scholasticism.  The  philos- 
ophy and  theology  of  the  patristic  period,  handed  down 
in  part  through  compendia,  was  being  propagated  in  new 
abridgments.  Those  who  wished  to  attain  to  the  highest 
theological  culture  read  Augustine  and  the  other  Latin 
fathers ;  but  very  few  scholars  of  the  CaroHngian  Age  went 
back  of  Gregory  the  Great  and  Isidore  of  Seville,  and  none 
of  them,  with  the  possible  exception  of  Johannes  Scotus, 
was  able  to  probe  that  patristic  intellectual  world  in  its 
deeper  ideas  and  perceptions  and  make  it  a  part  of  their 
own  experience.^ 

Thus  we  need  look  for  nothing  new  in  the  theology  of 
Alcuin's  period;  deeply  distrustful  of  itself,  slavish  in  its 
adherence  to  authority,  it  gropes  after  the  traditions  of  the 
past ;  yet  it  is  not  without  interest,  owing  to  its  tendency  to 
mysticism    on    the    one    hand,    and    to    materialistic    for- 

(i)  Harnack,  History  of  Dogma,  translation  by  N.  Buchanan,  Vol. 
V,  p.  275.  Cf.  Ueberweg,  History  of  Philosophy  from  Thales  to 
Present  Time,  translation  by  George  Morris,  Vol.  I,  p.  355.  Hatch, 
Introductory  Lecture  on  the  Study  of  Ecclesiastical  History,  1885. 

19 


20  THE   LETTERS   OF   ALCUIN 

malism  on  the  other.  These  were  so  much  in  harmony  with 
the  spirit  of  the  age  and  so  insidious  in  their  influence  as 
to  have  been  either  unnoted  by  the  most  enhghtened  men 
of  the  day,  or,  if  so,  to  have  been  viewed  without  distrust 
and  even  with  equanimity.  In  matters  of  practice,  there 
had  long  been  a  tendency  to  formaHsm  which  was  marked 
by  a  steady  decHne  of  rehgion  into  a  ceremonial  service, 
and  a  beHef  in  the  miraculous.  The  growing  influence  of 
Rome  over  the  west  in  matters  of  faith  and  practice,  fur- 
thered as  it  was  by  the  ecclesiastical  reforms  of  Charles  the 
Great,  was  a  very  potent  factor  in  promoting  uniformity 
and  formalism  as  well  as  orthodoxy;  while  the  tendency 
to  mysticism  combined  with  the  woful  ignorance  and  super- 
stition which  characterized  the  people  of  the  day,  will  ac- 
count in  a  large  measure  for  their  inveterate  love  of  the 
miraculous. 

Alcuin  shares  the  tendencies  of  his  age.  Like  his  con- 
temporaries, and  his  predecessors  for  several  centuries,  he 
is  but  an  echo  of  preceding  writers ;  he  knew  no  philosophy, 
no  theology  save  what  he  found  in  the  Church  Fathers,  or 
in  an  allegorically  interpreted  Bible.  He  makes  tliis  very 
clear  in  a  letter  to  Gisla  and  Rodtruda^  wherein  he  explains 
that,  as  a  physician  doth  compound  out  of  many  drugs  and 
herbs  a  specific  for  the  healing  of  the  sick,  so  he  himself, 
for  the  spiritual  upbuilding  of  the  faithful,  doth  glean 
truths  from  the  Fathers  as  'veritable  flowers  of  the  field.'" 
Nor  does  he  presume  to  trust  his  own  judgment.  "Rather," 
says  he,  "have  I  been  careful  to  follow  the  beaten  path  of 
the  Fathers,  imploring  the  aid  of  Divine  Providence  that 
I  might  interpret  their  meaning  aright."^ 

Alcuin's  theological  works  may  be  roughly  classified  as 

(1)  Sister  and  daughter,  respectively,  of  Charles  the  Great. 

(2)  "Florida  rura  peragranda  inihi   esse  video."    Ep.   213,   p.   357. 

(3)  "Magis  horuin  omnium   sensibus   ac  verbis  utens,   quam  meae 
quicquam  praesumptioni   committens."    Ibid. 


ALCUIN'S    THEOLOGICAL    ROLE  21 

exegetical,  moral,  liturgical  and  dogmatic.^  In  a  large 
measure,  they  were  called  forth  by  the  exigencies  of  the 
time.  This  is  especially  true  of  the  liturgical  and  dogmatic 
works;  they  are  quasi-official  in  character,  the  former  hav- 
ing been  written  to  further  Charles'  plan  of  making  the 
liturgy  of  Frankland  conform  to  that  of  Rome,  and  the 
latter  to  defend  the  orthodox  church  against  heresy.  Of  all 
his  theological  works,  the  dogmatic  are  certainly  the  ablest 
and  possibly  the  most  important.  These  consist  of  three 
treatises  ^  and  of  a  number  of  letters,  all  of  them  written 
against  the  heresy  of  Adoptionism  and  its  leaders,  Felix 
of  Urgel  and  Elipand  of  Toledo.  They  evince  a  direct- 
ness and  force  not  found  in  his  other  works;  possibly,  be- 
cause Alcuin  here  found  a  subject  after  his  own  heart,  a 
subject  which  furnished  him  with  an  opportunity  for  the 
display  of  his  biblical  and  patristic  lore,  as  well  as  for  the 
vindication  of  his  orthodoxy. 

From  the  dogmatic  standpoint,  the  chief  importance  of 
Adoptionism  lay  in  the  fact  that  it  was  really  an  assertion 
of  a  duality  in  the  personality  of  Christ.^  According  to 
Alcuin,  one  of  their  chief  opponents,  the  Adoptionists  main- 
tained the  unity  of  the  divine  person,  but  they  believed  in 
distinguishing  strictly  between  the  divine  and  the  human 
natures  of  Christ,  asserting  that  Christ,  as  God,  was  the 
natural,  and  as  man,  the  adopted,  Son  of  God.*  That  is 
to  say,  they  maintained  that  He  was  born  once  by  natural 
birth  as  the  Son  of  God,  and  again,  by  a  process  beginning 
with  baptism  and  culminating  in  the  resurrection,  as  the 
adopted  Son  of  God.    Thus  they  emphasized  His  humanity; 

(1)  West's  Alcuin,  appendix,  pp.  187,  188. 

(2)  The  Beati  Alciiini  Advcrsus  Felicia  Haeresin;  the  Beati  Alcuini 
contra  Felicem  Urgellitanum  Episcopum  Lihri  VII,  and  the  Adversus 
EUpandum  Tolitanum  Libri  IV,  in  Migne,  CCI,  pp.  83-299. 

(3)  Cf.  Gaskoin  Alcuin,  p.  140. 

(4)  "Dicis  itaque  quod  unus  homo  duos  patres  naturales  non  possit 
habere,  et  alterum  adoptivum,"  et  seq.  Adv.  Eel.  Book  III,  chap.  2. 
Migne  CCI,  p.  163 :  Cf.  Ep.  23 ;  Harnack  op.  cit.  V,  pp.  282-285. 


22  THE   LETTERS   OF  ALCUIN 

Christ  was  a  Son  no  less  in  His  humanity  than  in  His 
divinity;  but  His  nature  as  the  Son  of  man  was  different 
from  that  He  possessed  as  the  Son  of  God.  Accordingly, 
those  who  asserted  that  in  His  human  natures  He  was 
properly  and  strictly  the  Son  of  God,  confounded  His  two 
natures  and  denied  that  any  difference  existed  between  God 
and  man,  the  Word  and  the  flesh,  the  Creator  and  the 
creature/ 

The  origin  of  Adoptionism  has  long  been  a  disputed 
point.  It  does  not  lie  within  our  province  to  discuss  it.^ 
Suffice  it  to  say,  that  the  term  Adoption  had  lingered  on 
from  early  times  in  the  Spanish  Church,  where  it  had  been 
perpetuated  by  some  passages  in  the  so-called  Mozarabic 
liturgy.  It  did  not  become  a  burning  question  in  Spain 
until  its  chief  protagonist,  Elipand,  Bishop  of  Toledo,  tried 
to  subject  the  province  of  Asturias  to  his  ecclesiastical 
jurisdiction.^  It  became  a  matter  of  great  moment  to  the 
whole  of  Western  Europe,  when  Felix,  Bishop  of  Urgel, 
came  forward  as  its  champion.  Now,  Felix's  diocese  lay 
within  the  borders  of  Frankland,  and  Charles  the  Great, 
realizing  that  Felix  and  his  new  doctrine  were  becoming 
disturbing  factors  among  his  newly  conquered  people,  re- 
solved to  repress  them  both.  His  first  expedient  was  to 
have  Adoptionism  condemned  by  the  councils  of  the  church. 
That  proved  ineffectual,  although  Felix  was  forced  to  re- 
cant at  Ratisbon,  and  Adoptionism  was  condemned  at  the 
Council  of  Frankfort.^ 

At  this  juncture,  Alcuin  became  prominent  in  the  con- 
troversy. He  had  been  received  into  the  Council  of  Frank- 
fort, and  it  is  possible  took  part  in  its  deliberations. °     How- 

(1)  Adv.  Fcl.  Ill,   17;  Mi.erne  CCI.  pp.  171-17.^ 

(2)  Cf.  Harnack,  op.  cit.  V.,  pp.  278-28.3  and  footnotes;  Hefele,  op. 
cit.  Ill,  pp.  642-632;  Hauck,  op.  cit.  II,  p.  290,  note  2. 

(3)  Mocller,  Huxtorv  of  Christian  Church,  pp.  130-132. 

(4)  Hcfcle,  op.  cit.  "ill,  pp.  661,  671.  678. 

(5)  Aniiales  Einhardij  M.  G.  H.  SS.  I.,  p.  351. 


ALCUIN'S    THEOLOGICAL    ROLE  23 

ever,  it  was  not  until  it  had  become  apparent  that  the  coun- 
cils had  failed  in  their  purpose  that  Alcuin  would  seem  to- 
have  been  singled  out  by  King-  Charles  to  cham.pion  the 
orthodox  faith.  Not  long  after  the  Council  of  Frankfort, 
Alcuin  wTote  to  Felix  adjuring  him  to  renounce  hi?  errors. 
Failing  to  convince  him,  he  wrote  a  tract  against  him.^ 
This  was  followed  somewhat  later  by  his  larger  work 
against  Felix,  the  Adversus  Felicem,^  as  well  as  by  his  tract 
against  Elipand. 

In  these  works,  Alcuin  drew  largely  upon  his  patristic 
knowledge  and  taxed  his  ingenuity  to  the  utmost  in  his 
effort  to  refute  the  Adoptionists.  In  the  first  place,  he 
strove  to  crush  his  opponents  by  the  sheer  weight  of  tradi- 
tion, declaring  that  their  doctrine  was  an  innovation,^  with- 
out authority  in  the  Scriptures,  the  Fathers,  the  decrees  of 
councils,  or  the  practices  of  the  Roman  Church.  "Why," 
he  asks  Felix,  "why  do  you  wish  to  impose  a  new  name 
upon  the  church  ?  Has  God  revealed  it  unto  you,  amid  the 
Spanish  mountains,  during  these  latter  days  of  the  faith? 
Think  you  that,  in  contravention  to  the  apostolic  teaching 
and  that  of  the  Fathers,  you  shall  be  permitted  to  rear  a 
new  church  in  a  remote  comer  of  the  earth  ?"*  And  Alcuin 
goes  on  to  state  that  the  Fathers  of  the  Church,  the 
Prophets,  Apostles  and  Evangelists,  the  Angels  at  the 
Nativity,  as  well  as  the  Angel  of  the  Annunciation,  nay, 
the  Father  himself,  on  the  occasion  of  Christ's  baptism  and 

(i)  The  Beati  Alcuini  adversus^  Felicis  Haeresin,  mentioned  in 
Ep.  172  and  145.  Cf  Adv.  Pel,  op.  cit.  II,  chap.  2,  Migne  CCI,  pp. 
154-155. 

(2)  The  Beati  Alcuini  contra  Felicem  Urgellitanum  Episcopum 
Libri  VII,  written  between  the  years  798  and  799,  and  approved  by 
the  bishops  and  the  King  after  the  Synod  of  Aachen.  Cf.  Epp.  172, 
202,  207. 

(3)  Epp-  23,  166,  193.  Cf.  Adv.  Elip.,  op.  cit.  IV,  bk.  2,  chap.  I. 
Migne  CCI,  p.  256.  Cf.  Adv.  Pel.,  op.  cit.  1,  chap,  i,  Ibid.,  pp.  127- 
129. 

(4)  Cf.  Adv.  Pel.  op.  cit.  I,  chap.  2.  Migne  CCI,  p.  129.  Cf. 
Adv.  Pel  op.  cit.  II,  chap.  5,  Ibid.,  p.  150.  Cf.  Epp.  23,  166. 


24  THE   LETTERS   OF   ALCUIN 

transfiguration,  one  and  all  have  borne  testimony  to  the 
divinity  of  Christ  from  the  very  moment  of  His  concep- 
tion. Surely  no  man  in  his  right  senses  would  gainsay  the 
authority  of  these  doctors  of  the  Holy  Catholic  Church; 
and  most  assuredly  none  save  the  most  presumptuous 
would  contradict  the  testimony  of  Holy  Writ.^  On  the 
other  hand,  what  had  the  Adoptionists  to  offset  this  tes- 
timony save  their  own  opinions,  together  with,  several 
phrases  of  the  Mozarabic  liturg}-,  and  a  few  citations  of 
doubtful  authority  from  certain  Spanish  writers?"  Where 
fore,  he  implores  Felix  and  his  friends  to  abjure  that  con- 
tentious obstinacy  which  converts  error  into  heresy.^ 

If  his  opponents  are  not  overwhelmed  by  such  a  cloud  of 
witnesses,  Alcuin  is  prepared  to  prove,  not  alone  that  the 
arguments  with  which  they  support  their  contention  are 
inconsistent  and  unsound,  but  that  their  doctrine  of  Adop- 
tionism  is  but  the  ancient  heresy  of  Nestorianism  in  a  new 
guise.*  Furthermore,  he  declares  that  the  Adoptionist  doc- 
trine in  regard  to  the  Incarnation  is  most  degrading  to 
Christ,  and  subversive  of  the  faith,  in  that  it  ascribes  to 
Him  a  servile  condition  reducing  Him  to  the  level  of  man- 
kind.^ Accordingly,  he  arraigns  the  Adoptionists  for  their 
presumption  in  attempting  to  search  out  the  hidden  mys- 
teries of  God,  and  to  set  a  limit  to  the  Divine  Omnipotence. 

(i)  "Si  tantum  hominis,  reclamant  tibi  apostoli,  reclamant  prophetae 
rcclamat  denique  ipse,  per  queni  facta  est  conceptio,  Spiritus  sanctus. 
Obruitur  iinpudcntissitnum  os  tuum  cunctis  divinoruni  apicum  testi- 
moniis;  obruitur  sacris  voluminibus  Sanctis  testibus ;  obruitur  denique 
ipso  Dei  Evangelic."  Adv.  Pel.  II,  3.  Migne  CCI,  p.  148.  Cf.  ibid., 
infra  caps.  7,  13,  16,  17,  18,  19,  20. 

(2)  "Sed  post  haec  veritatis  testiinonia  novum  nomen  Dei  Filio 
cum  paucis,  Hispanias,  non  dico  doctoribus,  sed  vertitatis  desertoribus, 
imponere  pracsumis."  Adv.  Pel.  II,  3,  Ibid.,  p.  148.  Cf.  "Nisi  forte  et 
eorum  dicta  sicut  et  in  caeteris  solebas,  depravaris," — ibid.,  bk.  7, 
chap.   13,  Migne  CCI,  p.  226. 

(3)  "Non  est  hereticus,  nisi  ex  contentione."    Ep.  23. 

(4)  Adv.  Pel.  op.  cit..  Ill,  1-2;  I,  12;  II,  2;  I.  13;  III,  7;  V,  3; 
III,  2,  3;  I,  I ;  IV,  5;  VII,  11;  Vii,  2,  9;  Adv.  Elip.,  op.  cit.  IV,  s; 
Ep.  23. 

(5)  Adv.  Pel,  op.  cit.  IV,  9;  VI,  i,  2. 


ALCUIN'S    THEOLOGICAL    ROLE  25 

The  Catholic  Church  of  the  West  was  hardly  in  a  position 
to  understand,  much  less  to  favor,  the  view  of  the  Adoption- 
ists.  The  latter,  by  emphasizing  the  humanity  of  Christ,  had 
demonstrated  a  way  whereby  the  man  Christ  could  be  appre- 
hended as  man  and  as  intercessor.  This  did  not  appeal  to 
Alcuin  and  his  contemporaries,  partly  because  it  was  an 
"innovation,"^  partly  because  they  had  no  appreciation  of 
the  humanity  of  Christ.  Deeply  inoculated  with  the  mys- 
ticism of  the  Greeks,"  they  saw  everywhere  the  mystery  of 
deification;  and  as  was  inevitable,  orthodox  churchmen 
soon  ceased  to  regard  Him  in  any  sense  as  a  human  being. 

\Miile  the  controversy  was  at  its  height,  Alcuin  was 
most  indefatigable  in  his  efforts  against  Adoptionism.  He 
first  of  all  tried  to  refute  its  able  champion,  Felix,  whom  he 
adjured  to  renounce  his  error,  lest  after  a  life  of  piety,  self- 
sacrifice  and  devotion,  he  should  endanger  the  unity  of 
Mother  Church  and  his  own  soul's  salvation.^  His  appeal 
was  in  vain.  Felix  persisted  in  his  heresy,  and  won  so  many 
converts  that  the  Church  was  put  upon  the  defensive.  Alcuin 
was  somewhat  despondent;  his  letters  of  this  period  give 
evidence  of  a  rancor  and  bitterness  which  we  should  hardly 
have  expected  in  a  man  of  his  temperament.  He  girded 
himself  manfully  for  combat  with  the  old  dragon  of  heresy, 
which  was  once  more  raising  its  envenomed  head  amid  the 
briars  and  caves  of  Spain. ^  Soon  after  the  Council  of  Frank- 
fort, he  wrote  his  first  tract  against  Felix,  and  sent  it  by 
his  friend,  Benedict  of  Aniane,  to  the  monks  of  Gothia  to 
warn  them  against  Felix.  The  latter  was  contumacious 
enough  to  write  a  reply,  containing,  according  to  Alcuin, 
worse  heresies  and  more  blasphemies  than  those  in  his  pre- 

(i)     Epp.  23,  166.  (2)     Harnack,  op.  cit.,  p.  289. 

(3)  Alcuin  speaks  of  him  as  a  man  of  blameless  life  and  remarkable 
sanctity.     Epp.  23,  166. 

(4)  "Nunc  iterum  antiquus  serpens  de  dumis  Hispanici  ruris,  et 
de  speluncis,  venenatae  perfidise  contritum,  non  Herculea  sed  evan- 
gelica  clava,  caput  relevare  conatur."    Ep.    139.     Cf.  Epp.   137.    148. 


26  THE   LETTERS   OF   ALCUIN 

vious  works.  "Truly,"  says  Alcuin,  "the  tract  ought  to  be 
answered  since  it  asserts  that  Christ  is  not  the  true  Son  of 
God."^  His  suggestion  met  with  the  approval  of  the  king, 
and  he  was  commissioned  to  write  a  second  tract  against 
Felix.  At  his  request,  Paulinus  of  Aquila,  and  others,  were 
to  co-operate  with  him.  And  it  appears  that  he  and  Paulinus 
carried  out  their  part  of  the  program.^  These  polemics, 
however,  were  no  more  effectual  against  Felix  than  previous 
ones  had  been. 

The  next  move  of  the  orthodox  party  was  to  inveigle 
Felix  into  a  debate  before  King  Charles  in  open  court.  In 
an  evil  hour,  he  allowed  Leidrad  of  Lyons  to  persuade  him 
to  appear  at  the  Palace  in  defense  of  his  cause.^  His  op- 
ponent was  Alcuin ;  in  the  disputation  which  ensued,  the  lat- 
ter's  triumph  was  complete.  Felix,  awed  by  his  isolation 
in  the  presence  of  his  enemies  and  borne  down  by  the  argu- 
ments of  his  foe,  at  last  abjured  his  error.  Later  he  wrote 
a  profession  of  the  Catholic  faith  for  his  clergy,  and  became 
reconciled  with  Alcuin  and  to  the  Church.* 

Alcuin  next  turned  his  attention  to  Elipand,  who  had  re- 
mained obdurate  and  defiant  in  spite  of  Felix's  recantation. 
As  early  as  July,  799,  Alcuin  had  written  him,  imploring 
him  to  renounce  his  innovations  and  to  use  his  good  offices 
in  reclaiming  the  Bishop  of  Urgel  from  error.^  Elipand's 
reply  was  abusive  in  the  extreme.  He  addressed  Alcuin  as 
■"a  servant  of  anti-Christ,  begotten  of  the  devil,  all  reeking 
with  the  sulphurous  fumes  of  the  pit."®    Thereupon,  Alcuin 

(1)  Ep.  148. 

(2)  Paulinus  wrote  the  Contra  Felicem  Urgellitanuvi  Episcopum 
Libri  tres,  Migne  XCIX,  pp.  343-468.  Alcuin  mentions  this  in  Ep.  208. 
Cf.  Ep.  148,  p.  241. 

(3)  Vita  Alctiini  op  cit..  chap.  7.  Cf.  Epp.  193,  194,  208  Adv.  Elip., 
bk.  I,  chap.  16.     Migne  CCI,  pp.  299,  304. 

(4)  Epp.  207,  208,  199.  Yet  his  recantation  was  either  forced  or 
insincere.  Agobard  declared  that  Felix  still  believed  in  Adoptionism 
at  the  time  of  his  death.    Liber  Advcrsus  Fcliccm,  bk.  i.    Migne  CIV, 

^'  (5)     Ep.  166.  (6)     Epp.  182.  183. 


ALCUIN'S    THEOLOGICAL   ROLE  27 

wrote  his  Adversus  Elipandum  against  his  fiery  opponent. 
This,  together  with  his  letter  to  EHpand  and  his  Adversus 
Felicem,  he  dedicated  and  sent  to  the  commission  v/hich  had 
been  appointed  to  teach  and  preach  against  Adoptionism.^ 
Supphed  with  such  a  weahh  of  Hterature,  armed  with  the 
authority  of  the  Emperor,  and  blessed  by  the  Pope,  the  com- 
mission of  which  we  have  just  made  mention  had  every 
reason  to  hope  for  success.  And  succeed  they  did.  Alcuin 
proudly  boasted  that  twenty  thousand  people,  bishops, 
priests,  monks,  and  laymen,  had  abjured  their  error,  and  re- 
turned to  the  bosom  of  Mother  Church.^  Thus  did  ortho- 
doxy triumph,  yet  the  struggle  had  all  but  exhausted  the 
resources  of  the  Church  and  had  taxed  its  scholarship  to  the 
utmost. 

During  the  Adoptionist  struggle,  the  Prankish  church, 
the  Prankish  king,  and  the  Pope  had  worked  in  unison  to 
effect  the  extirpation  of  a  heresy  which  not  only  interfered 
with  their  work  of  organization,  but  also  ran  counter  to  the 
spirit  of  the  times.  The  other  controversies  of  our  period 
did  not  have  the  same  tendencies,  nor  was  there  the  same 
co-operation  between  the  papacy  on  the  one  hand,  and  the 
Prankish  church  and  King  Charles  on  the  other.  On  two 
occasions,  at  least,  the  latter  lagged  behind  their  guides. 
They  rejected  image-worship  and  supported  the  filioque. 
The  last-mentioned  doctrine  was  peculiar  to  the  Latin  fath- 
ers, having  originated  in  the  Augustinian  theolog}\'  It  had 
been  inserted  in  the  Spanish  creed,  whence  it  had  come  to 
the  Prankish  kingdom,  though  opinions  differed  as  to 
whether  it  should  be  inserted  in  the  symbol  which  had  by 

(i)  The  commission  consisted  of  Leidrad  of  Lyons,  Nefrid  of 
ivarbonne,  Benedict  of  Aniane.    Ep.  200. 

(2)  Ep.   208. 

(3)  Cf.  Augustine's  De  Trinitate,  IV.  20-Migne,Vol.  XLII,  pp.  906- 


28  THE   LETTERS   OF  ALCUIN 

degrees  obtained  in  the  Prankish  church.^  Charles  was  in 
favor  of  so  doing,  as  were  also  Alciiin  and  Theodulph.* 
And  at  the  Council  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  in  809,  the  Prankish 
church  decreed  that  the  iilioquc  belonged  to  the  symbol. 

Alcuin  was  also  drawn  into  the  third  controversy  of  the 
period — that  over  Image-worship.  While  it  cannot  be  es- 
tablished that  Alcuin  was  one  of  the  authors  of  the  Libri 
CaroUni,^  it  does  not  seem  unlikely  that  he  assisted  in  the 
writing  of  this  famous  refutation  of  image-worship.*  Cer- 
tainly he  was  present  at  the  Council  of  Frankfort  where  the 
Nicene  decrees  were  condemned.  It  is  equally  cenain  that 
while  he  was  in  Northumbria  he  received  a  copy  of  the 
Nicene  decrees  relating  to  image-worship,  together  with  a 
request  that  he  draw  up  a  refutation  and  bring  it  with  him 
indorsed  by  the  authority  of  the  princes  and  bishops  of  his 
count^)^  Alcuin  complied  with  the  king's  wishes.^  Purther- 
more,  according  to  some  historians,  it  was  upon  this  work 
that  Charles  and  his  theologians  based  their  memorial.* 
This,  however,  cannot  be  proved  with  the  evidence  at  hand. 

So  far  as  the  controversy  itself  was  concerned,  the  most 

(i)  Gieseler,  Ecclesiastical  History,  translated  by  Davidson,  Vol. 
II,  p.  277,  and  authorities  there  cited. 

(2)  Cf.  Alcuin's  Liber  de  processione  Spiriti  Sancti,  Migne  jZCl, 
pp.  63-83. 

(3)  The  Libri  Carolini  were  composed  under  Charles'  name  some 
time  between  September,  789,  and  September,  791,  in  opposition  to  the 
Decrees  of  the  seventh  council  of  Nicaea.  They  are  not  to  be  con- 
fused   with    the    memorial    of   85    chapters,    which    Angilbert    took    ta 

■Rome.  Cf.  £/>.  ^:i,  JafFe  VI,  op.  cit..  p.  245.  x^or  the  te.xt,  see  Migne, 
vol.  XCVIII,  pp.  999-1248.  Upon  the  Libri  Carolini  was  based  the 
Capitulary  de  hiiaginibus,  published  by  the  Council  of  Frankfort  in 
794.     Hauck,  op.  cit..  II,  pp.  315-316. 

(4)  Cf.  Hampe,  Neues  Archiv.,  Vol.  XXI,  p.  86;  JaflFe,  op.  cit.,  VI, 
p.  220  and  footnote;  Gieseler,  op.  cit.,  II,  p.  267  (footnote  2)  ;  Hefele, 
op.  cit.,  Ill,  p.  697;  Hauck  favors  Angilbert  as  the  author  of  the  Libri 
Carolini.     Vol.  II,  p.  316. 

(5)  M.  G.  H.  Leges,  sect.  II,  I,  p.  78.  Cf.  Simeon  Dtinehnensis 
ann.  792 ;  Haddon  and  Stubbs,  Church  Councils  of  Great  Britain,  III. 
p.  469. 

(6)  Hauck.  op.  cit.,  II,  p.  315  (note  i)  ;  Hampe,  Neues  Archiv., 
Vol.  XXI,  p.  86;  Moeller,  op.  cit.,  II,  p.  127. 


^' 


t'N'(VCr?3ITY 


ALCUIN'S   THEOLOGICAL  ROLE  29 

remarkable  thing  was  the  self-rehance  and  power  evinced 
by  the  Prankish  church.  Affecting  an  indifference  towards 
images,  they  contended  that  no  one  was  bound  either  to 
worship  or  to  destroy  them.  Hence,  while  they  condemned 
the  teaching  of  the  Icondules  as  superstitious  and  idolatrous, 
they  deplored  the  excesses  of  the  Iconoclasts.  The  chief  sig- 
nificance of  the  whole  controversy  lies  in  the  fact  that  the 
higher  and  more  cultured  Prankish  clergy  were  not  yet  pre- 
pared to  adopt  the  worship  of  images.  Though  the  people 
and  the  lower  clergy  would  probably  have  preferred  image- 
worship,  the  higher  clergy  set  themselves  against  this  phase 
of  the  materialism  which  was  sweeping  over  the  West. 
What  measure  of  their  opposition  was  due  to  the  desire  to 
advance  the  political  purposes  of  their  king,  and  what  to 
their  conscientious  scruples,  it  would  be  hard  to  say.  Be 
that  as  it  may,  it  is  largely  due  to  their  efforts  that  image- 
worship  has  never  been  domesticated  thoroughly  in  tlie 
West.  There  it  has  remained  largely  an  accessory,  whereas 
in  the  Past  it  is  an  expression  of  religious  faith. ^ 

The  dogmatic  works  with  which  we  have  dealt  thus  far, 
make  it  very  evident  that  Alcuin  achieved  little  in  the  way 
of  constructive  work.  However,  he  wrote  one  treatise  in 
which  he  made  an  effort  to  evolve  a  system  of  theology. 
This  is  the  De  Fide  Sanctae  Triiiitafis.~  Dealing  as  it  does 
with  the  Trinity,  the  Incarnation,  the  Spirit,  and  the  Resur- 
rection, the  De  Fide  is  an  attempt  to  give  an  orderly  account 
of  Christianity.  Unfortunately  for  Alcuin's  reputation  as  a 
theologian,  the  work  is  entirely  lacking  in  originality,  being 
based  on  a  treatise  of  Augustine.  Probably  the  most  sig- 
nificant thing  about  the  whole  work  is  the  dedication,  where- 
in he  declares  that  one  of  his  objects  in  writing  it  is  to 
prove  Augustine's  dictum,  that  dialectic  is  essential  to  the 

(i)     Harnack,  op.  cit.,  V,  pp.  306,  307. 
(2)     Migne,  CCl,  pp.  9-63. 


30  THE   LETTERS   OF  ALCUIN 

proper  study  of  theolog}'.^  This,  and  certain  other  passages 
in  his  letters,  wherein  he  defends  the  employment  of  dialectic 
in  theological  discussions,  would  seem  to  foreshadow  the 
later  scholasticism.^ 

The  exegetical  works  of  Alcuin  are  even  less  original,  and 
certainly  less  important,  than  his  dogmatic  treatises.  For 
the  most  part,  they  consist  of  commentaries  on  the  Bible. 
In  composing  these,  his  sole  aim  is  'to  cull'  the  best 
thoughts  from  the  earlier  commentators,  and  then  to  ex- 
pand them  into  one  continuous  exposition  of  the  passage 
under  discussion.  It  was  far  from  his  purpose  to  lay  before 
the  reader  any  original  ideas  about  the  texts  under  consider- 
ation. The  Fathers  are  infallible ;  it  is  not  for  him  to  criti- 
cise but  to  understand  the  truth  as  they  explain  it.  In  the 
dedication  of  his  commentary  on  the  Gospel  of  St.  John,  to 
which  we  have  referred,  he  makes  this  very  clear."*  It  may 
be  noted  that  the  first  eleven  chapters  of  this  same  com- 
mentary on  St.  John  are  taken  word  for  word  from  that  of 
Bede  on  the  same  subject.  The  same  plagiarism  character- 
ises his  other  works.  His  commentary  on  Genesis  is  de- 
rived partly  from  Jerome,  partly  from  Augustine;  that  on 
the  Penitential  Psalms,  as  he  himself  avows,  is  little  more 
than  a  reproduction  of  the  expositions  of  Augustine  and 
Cassiodorus.  The  commentary  on  Ecclesiastes  was  based 
on  Jerome;  and  his  exposition  of  the  epistles  of  Titus  and 
Philemon  are  a  reproduction  of  a  similar  work  by  the  same 
Father.  The  commentary  on  the  Songs  of  Solomon  is  de- 
rived from  Bede.  For  his  work  on  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews,  he  obtained  most  of  his  material  from  Chrysostom 
(in  a  Latin  version).     For  the  Apocalypse,  he  drew  heavily 

(i)  For  the  content  of  the  Dc  Fide  Sanctac  Trinitatis,  see  Gaskoin, 
Alcuin,  pp.  159-163. 

(2)  Cf.  "Bcatum  Paulum  leginius  cum  Stoicis  disputare,  ut  eorum 
eos  disciplinis  ab  errore  in  viam  veritatis  transduceret,"  et  seq.  Ep.  307, 
p.  470.     Cf.  Ep.  136,  and  Grammatka,  Migne  CCl,  p.  854. 

(3)  £^  213,  p.  357- 


ALCUIN'S   THEOLOGICAL  ROLE  31 

from  Bede,  Ambrose,  Jerome  and  Augustine.  In  his  ex- 
egesis of  St.  Matthew,  he  departs  to  some  extent  from  his 
method  of  excerpting ;  he  expresses  his  own  ideas  occasion- 
ally, though  oftener  than  not  he  is  satisfied  with  rearran- 
ging the  homilies  of  Bede  on  the  same  subject.^ 

All  of  these  commentaries  are  practical  manuals  or  cate- 
chisms, designed  to  aid  his  pupils  in  their  own  spiritual 
progress  or  in  the  practical  work  of  preaching.  His  inter- 
pretation is  three-fold — literal,  allegorical,  and  moral.  In 
connection  with  the  second  of  these  he  gives  free  rein  to 
his  fancy;  and  is  particularly  fond  of  elaborating  the  mys- 
teries of  numbers.^  Sometimes  also,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
commentary  on  Genesis,  he  throws  his  exposition  into  the 
form  of  a  dialogue.^ 

Alcuin's  exegesis  pursues  the  well-beaten  path  of  alle- 
gory which  had  been  followed  by  the  earliest  Fathers  in 
their  attempts  to  reconcile  the  Old  Testament  with  the  Gos- 
pels. In  this  respect,  the  northern  imagination,  bred  amid 
the  lingering  myths  and  legends  of  Anglo-Saxon  barbarism, 
showed  itself  to  be  almost  the  equal  of  the  long-trained 
Greek  intellects  of  Alexandria.  In  the  old  Saxon  literature, 
every  thought  assumed  a  form,  every  emotion  found  ex- 
pression, the  forces  of  evil  took  on  tangible  shape.  Their 
imagination  conjured  up  a  fantastic  people — dwarfs,  giants, 
Valkyries ;  stronger,  cleverer  than  men  and  lying  in  wait  for 
their  souls.  Alcuin's  works  were  full  of  such  allegorical 
figures.  According  to  his  biographer,  Alcuin  himself  came 
into  contact  with  the  devil.  "He  awoke  in  the  night,"  says 
the  anonymous  writer  of  the  Vita,  "the  door  of  his  cell 
opened,  and  he  saw  the  terrible  form  of  the  evil  one  come 

(i)  Cf.  Monnier.  Alcuin.  pp.  206-208;  Hauck,  op.  cii.,  II,  p.  137; 
Mullinger,  The  Schools  of  Charles  the  Great,  p.  90;  Gaskoin,  Alcuin, 
op.  cit.,  p.  135. 

(2)     See  Chap.  3,  p.  90.  (3)     Migne,  CC,  p.  515,  et  scq. 


32  THE   LETTERS   OF  ALCUIN 

Stalking  through."^  He  gives  the  old  fantastic  time-honored 
interpretations  to  various  passages  of  Scripture.  Thus,  the 
'seven  eyes'  mentioned  in  Revelations,  chapter  v,  verse  6, 
he  thinks  may  refer  to  the  Fathers  of  the  church  who  have 
illuminated  it  with  the  light  of  their  knowledge."  And  the 
word  abyss,  so  often  encountered  in  Holy  Writ,  he  explained 
as  the  'waste  of  waters,'  'the  heart  of  man,'  'the  ineffable 
wisdom  of  God.'^  Moreover,  in  one  of  the  least  important 
of  his  works,  Intcrpretationcs  Nomimim  Hcbraicorum^ 
starting  from  the  assumption  that  Christ  was  descended 
from  all  the  patriarchs,  he  concluded  that  the  mere  enumera- 
tion of  these  ought  to  incite  the  faithful  to  virtue.  Accord- 
ingly, he  proceeded  to  mention  the  names  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment worthies ;  and  along  with  them  he  gave  a  literal,  moral 
and  allegorical  interpretation  of  each  name.* 

Likewise,  in  attempting  to  explain  the  passages  of 
Scripture  relating  to  the  two  swords, °  he  gives  another  ex- 
ample of  his  three-fold  interpretation.  The  epistle  in  which 
he  does  so  is  written  to  Charlemagne,  and  is  well  worth  some 
consideration  in  view  of  the  fact  that  it  suggests  the  mental 
attitude  and  foreshadows  the  method  of  the  later  scholastics. 
Thus,  he  first  states  the  problem,  the  nodus  vero  proposifae 
qiuiestionis,  as  he  expresses  it.  This  is  none  other  than  to 
harmonize  two  passages  of  Scripture  seemingly  incongruous 
and  irreconcilable.  To  render  the  problem  more  difficult 
and  so  to  add  more  zest  to  its  solution,  he  quotes  four  other 
relevant  passages."  The  result  is  a  Gordian  knot  impossible 
of  solution  to  any  less  skilled  than  Alcuin  himself.  "If  the 
sword  is  the  Word  of  God,"  says  Alcuin,  "and  the  Lord 
used  it  in  that  sense  when  He  commanded  His  disciples  to 

(i)     Vita  Alchuini,  op.  cit.,  chap.  13. 

(2)  CommcntariiDH   in  Apocalypsin,   bk.    i,   Migne  CC,  p.    1098. 

(3)  Ep.  38. 

(4;     Migne  CC,  pp.  72^729. 

(5)  Luke  xxii,  36;  Matt.  xxvi.  52. 

(6)  Eph.  vi,  17;  Luke  xxii,  38;  Luke  xxii,  50;  John  xviii,  10. 


ALCUIN'S   THEOLOGICAL  ROLE  33 

buy  it,  then  it  follows  that  those  who  receive  the  Word  of 
God  shall  perish  by  that  same  Word ;  for,  did  not  Christ 
himself  say  "For  all  they  that  take  the  sword  shall  perish 
with  the  sword'  ?"' 

Having  stated  his  problem,  Alcuin  proceeds  to  the  literal 
interpretation,  "We  must  bear  in  mind,"  says  he,  "that 
''sword'  has  many  possible  interpretations,  such  as  the  'pas- 
sion of  Christ,'  or  'division,'  or  'vengeance,'  'judgment'  or 
*the  Word  of  God.'  "-  Thus  with  wearying  prolixity  and 
far-fetched  analogies,  he  wanders  with  keen  enjoyment  from 
one  irrelevant  quotation  to  another.  Finally,  having  dis- 
posed of  these  men  of  straw,  he  comes  back  to  the  problem 
in  hand — the  reconciliation  of  the  above  passages.  He  states 
as  a  premise  for  the  solution  of  the  problem,  that  sword  has 
always  been  used  in  these  passages  with  a  two-fold  meaning. 
Following  the  interpretation  of  the  Holy  Fathers,  lest  his 
own  "may  seem  presumptuous,"^  he  explains  that  "sword" 
is  used  in  one  of  two  senses,  signifying,  first,  "the  Word  of 
God,"  and,  second,  "an  instrument  of  vengeance."* 

Then  follow  the  allegorical  and  moral  interpretations. 
Thus,  the  "two  swords"  may  refer  to  the  body  and  the  soul. 
These  co-operate  through  faith ;  for  the  latter,  latent  in  the 
soul,  showeth  itself  outwardly  in  works.  Hence,  also,  the 
■"two  swords"  may  not  inaptly  be  interpreted  as  faith  and 
works.  This  interpretation  gives  him  an  opportunity  to 
point  his  moral.  "Let  each  one,"  says  Alcuin,  "look  to  the 
secret  intents  of  his  soul,  and  see  to  it  that  he  bring  forth 
good  works.  Let  the  priests  be  shining  lights  to  their  peo- 
ple, feeding  them  on  the  Bread  of  Life.  Above  all,  let  those 
in  high  places  in  the  church  labor  through  faith  and  good 

(i)     Eph.  vi,  17;  Matt,  xxvi,  52. 

(2)  Cf.  Luke  ii,  35;  Matt,  x,  34;  Romans  xiii,  4;  Isaiah  xxxiv,  5; 
Deut.  xxxii,  41  ;  Eph.  vi,  17. 

(3)  "Ne  quid  nostra  parvitas  praesumptiose  dicere  videatur."  Ep. 
136,  p.  207.     (4)     Matt,  xxvi,  52;  Luke  xxii,  51. 


34  THE   LETTERS   OF  ALCUIN 

works  to  effect  the  salvation  of  their  flocks,  knowing  that 
those  who  labor  most  will  reap  the  greatest  reward."^ 

Thus  Alcuin's  exegesis  is  commonly  naive  and  puerile. 
The  commentaries  are  dull  and  lifeless,  unrelieved  by  any 
sudden  or  agreeable  turn,  such  as  meets  us  in  the  tracts 
against  Adoptionism.  With  the  exception  of  a  few  passages 
in  his  commentaries  on  St.  John  and  on  St.  Matthew,  there 
is  no  personal  note,  no  color  to  relieve  the  tedium.  Further- 
more, there  is  no  speculation ;  nothing  in  short  but  an  inter- 
pretation of  the  truth  as  Alcuin  saw  it  through  the  medium 
of  the  Fathers.  Yet,  his  exegetical  works  exercised  a  cer- 
tain influence  on  his  successors.  His  system  of  'culling' 
from  the  Fathers  served  as  a  model  both  as  to  ideal  and 
method  for  the  commentators  of  the  next  century.  More- 
over, he  was  in  some  slight  measure  a  precursor  of  the  later 
scholastics,  since  there  are  passages  in  his  works  which 
foreshadow  the  method  and  attitude  of  the  later  dialecti- 
cians.^ 

The  moral  works  of  Alcuin  have  no  more  claim  to  recog- 
nition as  original  treatises  than  his  exegetical  writings. 
They  are  largely  based  on  St.  Augustine's  works ;  and  we 
find  in  them  the  same  ideas  and  the  same  manner  of  treat- 
ment. This  is  very  noticeable  in  the  Dc  Animac  ratione, 
where  Augustine's  three-fold  division  of  the  function  of  the 
soul  is  reproduced.  The  moral  treatises  are  three  in  num- 
ber. The  first  of  these,  the  De  Virtutibus  et  Vitiis,  was 
composed  for  the  use  of  Count  Wido.^  It  begins  in  a  char- 
acteristic way  by  asserting  that  obedience  to  God  is  the  only 
true  wisdom.  The  second  work,  the  Dc  A)ii)iiac  ratione,^ 
deals  with  a  kindred  subject ;  it  is  dedicated  to  Gundrada 
or  Eulalia.     "The  love  of  God,''  he  says  to  the  latter,  "is 

(1)  Ep.  136. 

(2)  Cf.  his  Dialcctica  and  introduction  to  De  Fide  Sanctae  Trini- 
tatis.    Cf.  Ef>p.  136,  307. 

(3)  Migne,  CCI,  pp.  613-639.     (4;     Ibid.,  pp.  639-649.     Ep.  309. 


ALCUIN'S   THEOLOGICAL  ROLE  35 

the  highest  good.  Your  chief  duty  consists  in  loving  this 
same  highest  good,  and  you  will  attain  to  excellence  only  in 
so  far  as  the  love  of  God  is  implanted  in  your  soul.  For  it 
is  rational  to  love  one's  neighbor,  the  soul  itself,  and  the 
body.^  The  passions  which  would  else  overturn  and  destroy 
this  order  are  to  be  controlled  if  not  suppressed  by  the  four 
cardinal  virtues."  So  far  as  the  origin  of  the  soul  is  con- 
cerned, it  remains  a  mystery  known  to  God  alone.  Further- 
more, it  is  immaterial,  impalpable,  and  invisible;  there  are 
found  in  it  only  the  functions  of  understanding,  will,  and 
memory.^ 

Alcuin's  third  moral  work  was  a  brief  treatise  on  con- 
fession. It  was  intended  as  a  corrective  against  a  certain 
indifference  among  the  Franks  with  respect  to  the  con- 
fessional. In  a  letter  to  the  boys  of  St.  Martin  he  writes, 
"All  sins  are  known  to  God;  there  is  no  concealing  them; 
therefore,  confess  and  do  penance  for  your  sins.  Verily, 
confession  is  as  medicine  to  the  soul ;  by  it  you  will  foil  your 
adversary,  the  devil,  and  save  your  souls.^  But  if  ye  will  not 
confess  to  the  priest,"  he  says  elsewhere,  "neither  will  ye 
confess  to  God.  The  priest  has  the  power  of  binding  or 
loosing  and  of  reconciling  man  with  God ;  but  how  can  his 
good  offices  avail  those  whose  sins  he  knoweth  not  ?  Hence," 
he  concludes,  "have  recourse  to  the  specific  of  confession, 
and  cleanse  thyself  with  the  medicine  of  penance  that  thou 
mayest  be  saved."* 

In  connection  with  the  moral  treatises,  the  biographical 
works  may  be  mentioned.  In  aim  and  characteristics,  they 
bear  a  strong  resemblance  to  those  with  which  we  have  just 
been  dealing.     They  are  four  in  number,  and  for  the  most 

(i)     Ep.  309.     Cf.  Migne  CCI,  p.  641. 

(2)  "Si  totas  non  habet,  quia  haec  omnia  ad  unum  charitatis  in- 
tendunt  preceptum,  quae  sola  in  catholicae  fidei  veritate,  dignam  efficiet 
animam  habitatione  sanctae  Trinitatis."  Migne  CCI,  p.  646.  Cf.  Ep. 
■^09.     De  Trinitate,  X,  12,  Migne  XLII,  p.  984. 

(3)  Ep.  131 ;  Cf.  I\Iigne  CCI,  pp.  649-655.     (4)     Ep.  138. 


36  THE   LETTERS   OF  ALCUIN 

part  are  adaptations  or  abridgments  from  an  earlier  biog- 
rapher/ Full  of  unbounded  admiration  for  the  saints  whose 
lives  he  is  depicting,  he  not  only  dilates  on  their  heroic  ca- 
reers, their  virtues  and  their  sanctity,  but  he  accepts  and 
passes  on  to  posterity  a  goodly  number  of  unauthenticated 
miracles  and  prodigies,  which  tradition  or  preceding  biog- 
raphers have  ascribed  to  them.^  These  are  modeled  for  the 
most  part  upon  the  miracles  of  Christ  and  of  the  Apostles. 
St.  Martin  and  St.  Riquier,  St.  Vedast  and  St.  Willibrord,  all 
have  the  gift  of  prophecy  and  of  miraculous  power.  St. 
Willibrord,  for  example,  produces  from  four  flasks  wine 
enough  to  satisfy  forty  persons.  All  of  these  holy  men  heal 
the  sick,  restore  the  lame,  the  halt  and  the  blind,  and  bring 
the  dead  back  to  life.  A  helpless  paralytic  recovers  health 
and  vigor  through  the  saving  grace  of  St.  Willibrord  f  three 
dead  men,  one  of  them  the  son  of  a  widowed  mother,  are  re- 
stored to  their  friends  by  the  miraculous  power  of  St.  Mar- 
tin.* Nor  is  the  human  interest  lacking.  Alcuin  does  not  fail 
to  appeal  to  the  martial  spirit  of  his  age.  These  same  saints, 
who  with  self-sacrificing  devotion  bare  their  heads  to  the 
assassin's  sword,  upon  occasion  rise  in  righteous  indigna- 
tion, and,  with  the  courage  of  Berserkers,  rush  into  the  midst 
of  the  heathen,  firing  their  temples  or  putting  them  to  flight 
w'hile  revelling  in  some  ungodly  orgy.°  Such  stories  as  these 
aroused  the  imagination  of  the  Saxon  and  of  the  Frank,  and 
incited  them  to  emulation.  They  subserved  Alcuin's  pur- 
pose, which  was  to  edify  rather  than  to  inform;  and  the  re- 
sult is  a  homily  rather  than  a  biography.  In  fact,  following 
the  biography  proper,  there  invariably  comes  a  homily, 
wherein  the  author  dilates  upon  the  resplendent  virtues  and 

(i)     Gaskoin,  Alcuin,  op.  cit.,  p.  139. 

(2)  Dc  Vita  Sancti  Martini  Turoncnsis,  chaps.  8,   12 — Migne  CCI, 
pp.  657-664. 

(3)  Vita  Sancti  Willibrordi,  chap.  28,  Jaffe,  op.  cit.,  VI,  p.  58. 

(4)  Vita  S.  Martini,  op.  cit.,  chap.  5,  Migne  CCI,  p.  660. 

(5)  Ibid.,  ct  infra. 


ALCUIN'S   THEOLOGICAL  ROLE  37 

the  godlike  deeds  of  his  heroes.  As  a  fitting  cHmax  there  is 
an  account  of  the  translation  of  each  of  the  saints  to  the 
beatific  joys  of  heaven/ 

From  this  short  survey  of  Alcuin's  theological  works,  it 
is  apparent  that  his  predominant  characteristic  is  an  exag- 
gerated veneration  for  the  past.  Like  his  contemporaries,  he 
is  wofully  ignorant  when  compared  with  the  writers  of  an- 
cient and  of  modern  times ;  but  he  had  sense  and  intelligence 
enough  to  perceive  his  limitations.  His  feeling  of  weakness 
and  helplessness  created  in  him  a  deep  distrust  which  made 
all  original  work  impossible.  For  Alcuin  and  his  contem- 
poraries, it  was  a  paramount  necessity  to  defend  the  faith 
in  that  form  in  v/hich  it  had  been  delivered  to  them  by  the 
saints.  What  the  Scriptures  taught,  what  the  fathers  and 
the  church  had  sanctioned,  that  they  believed,  nothing  more, 
nothing  less.  Tertullian's  credo  lit  intelUgmn  was  the  basic 
principle  of  their  spiritual  life.  Their  unquestioned  accept- 
ance of  tradition  was  so  complete  as  well-nigh  to  devitalize 
faith ;  for  they  accepted  dogmas  without  hesitation,  and 
failed  to  bring  them  into  connection  with  that  religious  mo- 
tive which  must  inspire  spiritual  life.  Yet  there  is  com- 
pensation. For  if  their  theology  is  formal,  utterly  lacking  in 
originality  or  force,  their  trust  is  sublime,  the  sincerity  of 
their  faith  unmistakable. 

(i)  St.  Willibrord  was  borne  to  heaven  by  angels.  "Nam  vidisse 
se  testabatur  animam  sanctissimi  Patris  sui  cum  magna  luminis  clan- 
tate,  cum  consona  canentium  laude,  ab  angelicis  exercitibus  ad  coelorum 
regna  port^ri."     Chap.  26,  Jaffe,  op   cit.,  VI,  p.  58. 


CHAPTER  II 

SOCIAL   AND    POLITICAL    CONDITIONS 

Although  to  the  theologian  the  Carohngian  Age  has  lit- 
tle to  offer  in  the  way  of  constructive  work,  to  the  historian 
of  civilization  the  whole  era  is  interesting.  In  the  earlier 
part  of  the  period,  during  the  reign  of  Charles  the  Great, 
the  organization  of  the  Prankish  kingdom  and  church  was 
being  completed.  Then,  too,  as  a  fitting  consummation  to 
Charles'  career  of  conquest,  the  Empire  was  re-established 
in  the  West.  Likewise,  that  other  universal  power,  the 
Papacy,  under  the  protection  of  the  Prankish  king,  was 
laying  the  foundations  for  its  future  growth  and  develop- 
ment. At  the  same  time,  there  was  emerging  and  develop- 
ing the  Peudal  System,  in  a  sense  the  enemy  of  both  Church 
and  State,  of  Papacy  and  of  Empire.  In  fact,  society  was 
already  taking  on  many  of  those  characteristics  which  dis- 
tinguished it  during  the  Middle  Ages. 
\  One  of  the  institutions  to  which  Alcuin  devotes  consider- 
\  able  attention  is  the  Papacy.  As  portrayed  by  him,  it  was 
\  as  yet  weak  and  dependent,  but  very  ambitious.  Hadrian 
;  and  Leo  III,  the  bishops  of  Rome,  its  incumbents  during 
his  time,  were  aware  both  of  the  limitations  and  the  possi- 
bilities of  the  papal  power,  and  pursued  a  consistent  policy 
toward  the  temporal  rulers  of  their  time.  Beset  with  foes 
in  Italy  and  in  Rome  itself,  deserted  by  the  Eastern  Empe- 
rors, they  saw  the  absolute  need  for  maintaining  the  alliance 
with  the  powerful  Prankish  kings.     Yet,  with  a  growing 

38 


SOCIAL    AND   POLITICAL   CONDITIONS  3^ 

prescience  of  the  digiiity  and  possibilities  of  their  own  power, 
they  were  quick  to  seize  every  vantage  point  which  would 
increase  the  prerogatives  of  the  Papal  See.  And  on  several 
occasions,  notably  during  the  well-known  controversies  over 
Image- Worship  and  the  fiUoqitc,  they  upheld  the  preten- 
sions of  the  Papacy  so  persistently  as  to  incur  the  anger  of 
Charles,  thereby  endangering  the  alliance  between  it  and  the 
Prankish  kings. 

However,  circumstances  w-ere  such  as  to  force  the  popes 
of  Alcuin's  time  to  cling  to  the  Prankish  alliance.  The  en- 
croachments of  the  Arian  Lombards,  together  with  the 
popes'  uncertain  position  in  Rome  itself,  had  first  forced 
them  to  appeal  for  aid  to  the  Prankish  kings.  The  w^ell- 
known  conspiracy  of  Campulus  and  Paschalis  against  Pope 
Leo  III  is  a  case  in  point.  When  a  rumor  reached  Alcuin  to 
the  effect  that  a  Roman  mob  had  set  upon  the  pope  and  mal- 
treated him,  Alcuin  w^as  greatly  dismayed  and  angered.  "O, 
perverse  people,"  he  exclaims  fiercely,  "ye  have  blinded  your 
own  head."  And  he  at  once  implored  Charles  to  make 
peace  with  the  Saxons  so  that  he  might  be  able  to  go  to  Rome 
and  reinstate  the  Pope.^  After  Charles  had  gone  to  Rome^ 
and  the  Pope,  owing  to  his  good  offices,  had  triumphed 
over  his  foes,  Alcuin  broke  forth  into  a  veritable  pzean  of 
thanksgiving  and  praise.^  But  it  is  most  significant  that 
the  Pope  was  restored  to  his  position  only  after  what  w^as 
practically  a  trial  on  charges.^  Indeed,  Alcuin  hints  that 
for  a  time  Charles  actually  contemplated  asking  Leo  to  re- 
sign.* A  more  humiliating  position  for  the  'Servant  of  the 
Servants  of  God'  can  hardly  be  conceived ;  seldom  in  all  its- 

(i)    Epp.  173,  174,  179-                              .  ,     . 

(2)  "O  dulcissime,  decus  populi  christiani,  o  defensio  ecclesiaruin 
Christi,  consolatio  vitae  praesentis."     Ep.  177. 

(3)  It  would  appear  that  neither  Alcuin  nor  Charles  were  sure  of 
Pope  Leo's  innocence.  Cf.  Epp.  179,  184,  214,  216,  218.  Einhardi 
Annales,  M.  G.  H.  SS.  I,  pp.  188-199. 

(4)  Alcuin  dissuaded  Charles  from  so  doing.  Cf.  Epp.   178,  179. 


40  THE   LETTERS   OF   ALCUIN 

existence  has  the  Papacy  furnished  a  more  striking-  example 
of  pitiable  dependence  upon  the  temporal  power. 

Pope  Leo  realized  that  his  position  had  been  greatly 
weakened  by  these  events.  In  his  subsequent  letters  to 
Charles/  he  confessed  that  as  God  had  made  the  Prankish 
king  the  guardian  of  the  ecclesiastical  peace,  the  Pope  looked 
to  him  not  alone  to  defend  the  temporality  of  the  Church, 
but  to  maintain  its  spiritual  prerogatives  as  well."  On  the 
other  hand,  he  held  it  to  be  the  duty  of  the  Church  to  second 
Charles  in  all  his  plans,  while  he  felt  it  incumbent  on  him- 
self to  communicate  to  the  emperor  anything  of  importance 
which  might  affect  the  imperial  power  of  Italy  or  through- 
out the  West.^  Under  such  circumstances  Charles  was  not 
likely  to  resign  a  single  prerogative  in  favor  of  the  Papacy.* 
There  were  times  when  he  actually  usurped  that  which  the 
Papacy  confidently  expected  him  to  protect.  In  a  letter  to 
Pope  Leo  III,  he  roughly  delimited  the  respective  spheres  of 
influence  of  the  papal  and  ttmporB.\  powers  as  follows,  "It 
is  our  task,"  he  says,  "to  protect  the  Holy  Church  of  Christ 
from  the  heathen  wdio  assail  it  abroad,  as  well  as  to  enforce 
a  recognition  of  the  Catholic  faith  within  our  borders.  It  is 
your  duty,  O  Holy  Father,  to  support  our  warlike  service 
with  hands  uplifted  to  God,  so  that  the  Christian  people,  led 
of  God  and  aided  by  your  prayers,  may  triumph  every- 
where.'"* Thus,  there  was  little  left  to  the  Papacy  save  the 
{  exercise  of  the  purely  spiritual  functions." 

(i)     Ten  letters  in  all.     Hanipe  in  M.  G.  H.  Epistol.     Vol.  V,  pp. 

85-104. 

(2)  "Ad  hoc  omnipotens  et  invisibilis  Deus  noster  vestram  a  Deo 
protcctam  imperialem  potentiam  sanctae  suae  ecclesiae  fecit  esse  cus- 
todem.  .  .  .  Ep.  9.  M.  G.  H.  Epistol.  Vol.  V,  pp.  100.  (3)  Ihid., 
Epp.  2,  6.  7,  8,  M.  G.  H.  Epist.,  Vol.  V. 

(4)  Hauck,  Kirchcngcschichte  Dcutsclilands,  op.  cit.,  II,  pp.  109, 
110. 

(5)  Codex  Carolinae,  Ep.  10.  M.  G.  H.  Epistol.  Vol.  V,  pp.  100.  Cf. 
Introduction  to  Admonitio  Gcneralis,  M.  G.  H.  Leg.,  Sect.  II,  Vol.  I, 

P-  54- 

(6)  "A  TEmpereur  Taction,  au  Pope  la  priere."  Kleinclausz,  L'Em- 
pire  CaroHngien  scs  origincs  ct  ses  transformations,  p.  213. 


SOCIAL   AND   POLITICAL   CONDITIONS  41 

The  great  men  of  Alcuin's  day  acquiesced  in  Charles'  con- 
ception of  the  relations  of  the  Papacy  to  the  temporal  pow- 
ers. Alcuin,  though  a  firm  and  loyal  friend  of  the  Pope,  is 
in  substantial  agreement  with  the  views  of  Charles.  To 
him  the  Pope  is  the  Head  of  the  Church,  opening  to  the 
faithful  the  gates  of  Paradise;  he  is  the  heir  of  all  the 
Fathers  of  the  Ages  and  sitteth  in  their  place;  upon  his 
shoulders  their  mantle  of  authority  and  of  power  hath 
fallen.^  He  is  the  light  of  life,  the  chief  ornament  of  re- 
ligion, the  vicar  of  the  Apostles  and  the  anointed  of  God.^ 
From  these  expressions,  it  is  evident  that  Alcuin  is  a  firm 
upholder  of  the  Petrine  tradition;  in  matters  of  doctrine 
the  authority  of  Rome  is  paramount.  Further  than  this, 
however,  he  does  not  go ;  he  makes  no  claim  for  the  Papacy 
save  that  of  precedence.^  On  the  contrary,  recognizing  its 
dangers  and  needs,  he  seeks  rather  to  draw  it  and  the  tem- 
poral powers  together  as  necessary  to  each  other  and  to 
the  Church.* 

"Power,"  says  Alcuin  on  one  occasion,  "is  divided  be- 
tw^een  the  spiritual  and  temporal  powers;  the  latter  must 
be  the  defenders  of  the  fonner,  and,  as  such,  are  instru- 
ments of  vengeance  rending  their  adversaries  and  punishing 
the  wicked  for  their  evil  deeds;  whereas  the  spiritual,  full 
of  saving  grace  and  power,  doth  open  the  portals  of  Heaven 
to  the  faithful  and  doth  give  joy  never  ending  to  the  good."^ 
Again,  he  writes  to  Charles :  "Hitherto,  there  have  been 
three  powers,  pre-eminent  above  all  others.  First  of  all, 
there  is  His  Eminence  the  Pope,  the  Vicar  of  Christ,  w'ho, 

(i)     E/>.  234.    Cf.   Epp.  Q4,  127,  125,  137,  117,  179. 

(2)  "Ecce  tu,  sanctissime  pater,  pontifex  a  Deo  electus,  vicarius 
apostolorum  heres  patrum,  princeps  ecclesiae,  unius  inmaculatae  co- 
lumbae  nutritor.  £/>.  94.  Cf.  Epp.  27,  125.  (3)  Ep.  242,  Jaffe,  op.  cit., 
Cf.  Ep.  174. 

(4)  "Illi  sint,  id  est  saeculares,  defensores  vestri,  vos  intercessores 
illorum."  Cf.  "Divisa  est  potestas  saecularis  et  potestas  spiritalis;  ilia 
portat  gladium  mortis  in  manu,  haec  clavem  vitae  in  lingua."    Ep.  17. 

(5)  Ep-  17- 


42  THE   LETTERS   OF   A  ECU  IN 

though  even  now  most  grievously  ill-treated,  (as  we  know 
from  your  letter),  is  wont  to  rule  as  the  successor  of  Peter, 
the  Chief  of  the  Apostles.  In  the  second  place,  cometh  the 
head  of  the  secular  powers,  the  Emperor,  who  of  late,  as 
everyone  knoweth,  hath  been  most  impiously  deposed  by  his 
own  people.  In  the  third  place,  there  is  the  royal  power,  to 
which  dignity  it  hath  pleased  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  ele- 
vate thee,  vouchsafing  thee  more  power,  more  wisdom  and 
more  glory  than  to  the  other  two  potentates."^  Elsewhere 
he  describes  the  Papacy  as  the  successor  to  St.  Peter,  the 
heir  to  a  great  power,  the  light  of  wisdom,  the  shepherd  of 
the  flock,  feeding  it  upon  the  bread  of  life,  nurturing  it  with 
the  fiowers  of  virtue  and  the  Word  of  God,  bearing  His 
messages  to  the  people,  and  interceding  with  Him  for  their 
sins.^  The  temporal  ruler,  on  the  other  hand,  is  an  active, 
militant  force,  enforcing  the  decrees  of  the  Pope,  propagat- 
ing Christianity,  regulating  and  disciplining  the  clerg)'  and 
protecting  the  Church  against  heretic  and  heathen.^  It  is 
highly  probable  that  Alcuin's  training  is  partially  responsi- 
ble for  his  attitude.  For  the  Anglo-Saxon  monks  and  clergy, 
though  zealous  adherents  of  the  Roman  Church,  had  allowed 
their  enthusiasm  to  find  its  chief  vent  in  an  advocacy  of  Ro- 
man doctrines  and  Roman  liturgy.*  They  were  far  from 
being  a  unit  in  favor  of  the  dominating  and  immediate  influ- 
ence of  the  Papacy  over  the  national  church  in  England.^ 
Moreover,  the  English,  though  Romanic  in  religion,  were 
Teutonic  in  all  things  else,  in  literature,  language  and  law. 
So  Alcuin  may  well  have  inherited  such  a  preference  for 
national  independence  and  for  a  strong  national  church  as 

(i)     Ep.  174- 

(2)  "Huius  te,  excellenlissime  pater,  ut  vicarium  sanctissimae  scdis 
.agnosco,  ita  et  niirificae  potestatis  heredem  esse  fatcor."    Ep.  27. 

(3)  Epp.  174-    Cf.  Epp.  238,  17,  41,  148. 

(4)  Cf  Synods  of  Cloveshoe  and  Pincanhale,  Haddan  &  Stubbs, 
Councils  and  Ecclesiastical  Documents  Relating  to  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  360,  361,  443. 

(5)  Haddan  &  Stubbs,  Remains,  pp.  208,  209,  223. 


SOCIAL    AND    POLITICAL    CONDITIONS  43 

to  induce  him  to  support  Charles  in  his  assumption  of  su- 
premacy in  ecclesiastical  matters. 

Charles  was  but  reaping-  the  advantages  of  the  ecclesias- 
tical policy  of  the  Merovingians.  The  latter  had  practically 
feudalized  the  Church,  despite  its  protests  and  in  utter  dis- 
regard of  its  canons.^  During  the  rule  of  the  first  of  the 
mayors  of  the  Palace,  the  secularization  of  the  Church  had 
gone  on  at  such  a  pace  that  the  clergy  found  it  all  but  use- 
less to  protest."  Boniface  himself,  the  most  uncompromis- 
ing advocate  of  ecclesiastical  privilege,  received  his  archi- 
episcopal  see  of  Mainz  from  his  royal  patrons.  It  is  clear, 
then,  that  Charles  had  the  right  of  investiture  both  by  tradi- 
tion and  by  prescription.  It  is  equally  evident  from  the 
official  documents  of  the  time,  as  well  as  from  the  testimony 
of  the  clergy  themselves,  that  he  used  this  prerogative  to  the 
full.^  Alcuin  undoubtedly  received  his  benefices  of  St.  Loup, 
of  Ferrieres  and  of  Tours  from  the  king.  Later  in  life,  he 
had  these  preferments  in  mind  when  he  thanked  the  emperor 
for  all  the  kindnesses  which  the  latter  had  shown  him.* 
And  when,  in  803,  the  emperor  conceded  to  the  people  and 
the  clergy  the  right  to  elect  their  own  bishops,  it  was  a  favor 
granted,  not  an  acknowledgment  of  a  pre-existing  privi- 
lege.^ 

In  other  respects,  Charles'  mastery  over  the  Prankish 
church  is  even  more  evident.  He  was  disposed  to  regard 
the  disciplining  of  the  clergy  as  his  own  special  prerogative. 
In  his  capitularies,  he  enumerated  their  vices,  mapped  out 
their  line  of  conduct,  berated  their  negligence,  and  held  them 

(i)  Cf.  Concil.  Paris  III,  ann  557,  canon  8,  Hefele,  Concilicnge- 
schichte,  III,  p.  13.  Concil.  Paris  V,  ann  614,  canons  2  and  3,  ibid.,  p. 
68.  Concil.  Reniens,  ann.  625,  canon  i,  ibid.,  p.  75.  Concil.  Cabillon, 
ann.  644,  canon  10,  ibid.,  p.  03. 

(2)  Hefele,  op.  cit.,  Ill,  pp.  518-521. 

(3)  Altfridi,  Vita  S.  Liudgeri,  caps.  19,  20,  M.  G.  H.  SS.  II,  pp.  410- 
411.     Vita  S.  Bonifatii,  cap.  10,  ibid.,  p.  347.     (4)    Ep.  238. 

(5)  Lea,  Studies  in  Church  History,  p.  93,  and  authorities  there 
cited. 


44  THE   LETTERS   OF   ALCUIN 

up  to  their  duties.  It  is  evident,  too,  from  the  letters  of  the 
bisliops,  that  they  accepted  him  as  the  head  of  the  Prankish 
Churcli.  They  humiliated  themselves,  accused  themselves 
of  negligence,  and  of  idleness;  they  blessed  the  emperor  for 
having  aroused  them  from  their  indifference;  they  pro- 
claimed the  necessity  of  obeying  his  orders,  which,  like  his 
person,  they  considered  as  holy.^  They  seemed  to  have  re- 
garded his  consecration  as  king  and  emperor  as  having  con- 
ferred upon  him  special  prerogatives  over  the  Church.^ 
Moreover,  it  is  a  well-known  fact,  that  the  Councils  of  the 
Prankish  Church  met  at  his  bidding,  discussed  the  matters 
which  he  put  before  tliem,  and,  what  is  more,  decided  them 
according  to  his  will.  "He  issued  his  rescripts  on  ecclesias- 
tical matters  with  fully  as  much  authority  as  when  legislat- 
ing on  matters  purely  secular."''  It  is  very  significant,  too, 
that  contemporaries,  including  the  clergy,  should  have  recog- 
nized the  king's  right  to  approve  the  doctrines  as  well  as  to 
regulate  the  policy  of  the  Prankish  Church.  Alcuin.  for  ex- 
ample, dedicated  to  him  his  tract  on  the  Trinity  as  the  one 
best  fitted  to  judge  of  its  merits;*  nor  did  he  presume  to 
publish  his  larger  tract  against  Pelix  until  Charles  had 
deemed  it  worthy  to  be  presented  to  the  clergy.^  Thus  the 
Prankish  king  was  complete  master  of  the  Prankish  Church, 
appointing  its  bishops,  disciplining  its  clergy,  confirming  its 

(i)  Epistolae  Carolinae,  Epp.  26-44.  Cf.  especially  Epp.  28,  34,  27t 
38,  42,  in  Jaffe  op.  cit.,  IV,  pp.  335-430. 

(2)  Thus  Leidrad  in  his  Liber  dc  Sacramento  Baptismi,  says :  "In 
quibus  quoque  verbis  nolandiim  est  quod  post  unclioncni  inio  per 
unctionem  dirigatur  spiritus  domini  in  David,  sicut  in  Ecclcsia  credi- 
nuis  per  chnsniatis  unctionem  ct  manus  impositionem  dari  Spirituni 
sanctum."  Migne,  XCIX,  p.  864.  Cf.  Theodulph,  Ep.  24,  M.  G.  H. 
Epistol.  IV,  p.  534. 

(3;  Hcfele,  op.  cit.,  II,  pp.  678-693  and  721.  Cf.  Lea,  Studies  in 
Church  History,  op.  cit.,  p.  62. 

(4)  "Ncque  enim  quemquum  magis  dccct  vel  mcliora  nosse  vel 
plura  quam  imperatorcm,  cuius  doctrina  omnibus  potest  prodesse 
subjectis."    Ep.  237,  P-  4I5- 

(5)  Ep.  202,  p.  335.     Cf.  Epp.  203,  201. 


SOCIAL    AND    POLITICAL    CONDITIONS  45 

doctrines/  For  the  most  part,  he  used  his  great  power  with 
wisdom  and  discretion ;  he  directed  his  efforts  along  several 
lines,  notably,  the  revision  of  tlie  liturgy,  the  organization 
of  the  Frankish  clergy,  and  the  reform  of  their  morals  and 
those  of  the  people  in  general. 

The  nature  and  scope  of  Charles'  liturgical  reforms  were 
determined  by  his  desire  to  secure  a  uniformity  in  the 
Church  commensurate  with  that  which  he  was  trying  to 
secure  in  the  realm  of  political  affairs.  The  Frankish  Church 
with  its  numberless  local  'uses'  could  not  be  expected  to 
furnish  the  requisite  model.  Accordingly,  he  decided  to 
adopt  the  Roman  use,  so  that  the  Frankish  and  Roman 
Churches,  one  in  doctrine  and  in  faith,  should  be  one  in 
form  and  in  ritual.  The  Roman  chant,  the  Roman  sacra- 
mentary,  the  Roman  calendar  and  the  Roman  form  of  bap- 
tism were  all  to  be  approved.^  In  carrying  out  his  sweeping 
policy  of  reform,  Charles  was  at  once  confronted  by  a  diffi- 
culty. The  Frankish  uses  were  in  the  field ;  they  could  not 
be  ousted  by  a  mere  command ;  they  must  be  gradually  modi- 
fied, revised  and  brought  into  uniformity  with  the  use  of 
Rome.  To  execute  this  task  required  a  man  of  great  tact 
and  ripe  scholarship,  who,  while  recognizing  the  difficulties 
of  the  work  in  hand,  and  the  need  for  moderation,  would 
yet  be  in  hearty  sympathy  with  its  purpose.  Such  a  man 
w^as  Alcuin. 

Alcuin  wholly  approved  of  Charles'  efforts  to  make  the 
Frankish  liturgy  conform  to  that  of  Rome.  Yet  his  train- 
ing and  experience  had  been  such  as  to  counsel  moderation. 
In  his  own  land,  there  had  been  a  struggle  between  two  rival 
liturgies,  and  knowing  the  history  of  that  struggle  from  the 
compromise  under  Theodore  of  Tarsus  to  the  ultimate  tri- 

(i)  Kleinclausz,  op.  cit.,  p.  212.  Fustel  de  Coulanges  Les  Trans- 
formations de  la  Royaute,  p.  524. 

(2)  Duplex  Icgationis  Edictum,  chaps.  23,  24.  M.  G.  H.  Leg.,  Sect. 
II,  I,  p.  64. 


46  THE   LETTERS   OF   ALCUIN 

umph  in  his  own  day  of  the  Roman  purists  at  the  Councils 
of  Cloveshoe  and  Pincanhale/  he  was  not  Hkely  to  be  too 
arbitrary  nor  too  radical  in  dealing  with  a  similar  question 
in  Frankland.  This  is  very  evident  from  a  reply  to  Eanbald, 
Archbishop  of  York,  who  had  requested  him  to  compile  a 
new  sacramentary.  "Have  you  not  an  abundance  of  sacra- 
mentaries  in  the  Roman  style,"  says  he,  "and  yet  others  of 
a  larger  size,  representing  an  older  use?"  "And,"  adds  he, 
very  pertinently,  "I  would  fain  have  had  you  teach  your 
clergy  something  of  the  Roman  Order  ...  so  that  the 
ecclesiastical  ceremonies  might  be  performed  in  an  orderly, 
respectful  way."'  Manifestly,  while  Alcuin's  love  of  order 
led  him  to  prefer  the  Roman  service-books,  he  was  willing 
to  supplement  them  by  the  local  uses.  It  was  in  such  a 
spirit  of  compromise  that  he  composed  the  liturgical  works 
ascribed  to  him. 

Alcuin's  liturgical  works  may  be  classified,  first  as  official, 
or  quasi-official,  and  second  as  unofficial.  To  the  first  class 
belong  the  homiliary,  a  lectionary  and  a  sacramentary,  all 
designed  for  use  in  public  worship.  About  the  origin  of 
these,  we  know  all  too  little.  Indeed,  it  is  by  no  means  cer- 
tain that  any  copy  of  the  homiliary  survives,  for  the  so-called 
homiliary  of  Alcuin,  printed  under  his  name  in  the  fifteenth 
and  sixteenth  centuries,  was  the  work  of  Paulus  Diaconus.* 
Alcuin's  homiliar}^  appears  to  have  consisted  of  two  volumes 
of  sermons  collected  from  the  Fathers  ;*  consequently  it  filled 
a  long-felt  need  by  thus  supplying  sermons  ready  to  hand 

(i)     Haddan  and  Stubbs,  op.  cit.,  Ill,  pp.  367-368. 

(2)  "Numquid  non  babes  Romano  more  ordinatos  bbellos  sacra- 
torios  abundanter?  Habcs  quoque  et  veteris  consuetudinis  sufficienter 
sacramentaria  maiora.  Quid  opus  est  nova  condere,  dum  vetera  suffi- 
ciunt?"    Ep.  226,  p.  370. 

(3)  Recent  researches  have  discovered  a  manuscript  of  the  twelfth 
century,  which  has  on  the  back  of  the  last  leaf  of  it  the  inscription 
"Omilie  Alcuini  de  dominicis  per  anni  circulum  et  de  quibusdam  aliis 
diebus."  This  would  appear  to  be  Alcuin's  homiliary.  Cf.  Gaskoin, 
op.  cit.,  pp.  222,  22^.    Morin,  L'homclaire  d'Alcuin  rctrouve. 

(4)    Vita  Alchuini,  op.  cit.,  chap.  12. 


SOCIAL    AND    POLITICAL    CONDITIONS  47 

to  those  of  the  clergy  who  were  too  ignorant  to  write  their 
own/  Alcuin's  second  liturgical  work  was  the  'compan- 
ion' or  lectionary,  which,  in  its  present  form,  contains  two 
hundred  and  forty-two  epistles  for  reading  on  Sundays,  fast 
and  holy  days."  The  third  and  last  of  Alcuin's  official  works 
was  the  sacramentary.  It  consisted  of  the  Gregorian  sacra- 
mentary,  followed  by  a  so-called  preface  and  a  supplement.* 
Through  these  liturgical  works,  and  especially  through  his 
sacramentary,  he  did  much  to  restore  order  in  the  cere- 
monies of  the  church  as  well  as  to  bring  about  conformity 
with  the  liturgy  of  Rome. 

Besides  his  official  works,  Alcuin  wrote  a  number  of  other 
treatises  on  liturgical  subjects.  Among  them  is  his  Liber 
Sacramentonim;  it  is  a  collection  of  masses  and  was  in- 
tended for  monastic  rather  than  for  general  use.*  The  same 
is  true  of  the  De  Psalmorum  Usii.  This  classified  the  Psalms 
according  to  their  subject  matter,  and  showed  their  appro- 
priateness to  various  moods  and  circumstances.^  Another 
work,  the  OfRcia  per  Ferias,  or  Breviarum,  as  it  is  some- 
times called,  was  written  for  Charles  the  Great  himself,  or 
for  his  son  and  namesake.  It  contains  a  number  of  Psalms 
assigned  in  seven  portions,  according  to  their  contents,  to 
the  seven  days  of  the  week;  a  collect  follows  every  psalm, 
and  there  is  a  litany  of  saints  for  each  day.  Considerable  in- 
terest attaches  to  this  work  in  view  of  the  fact  that  it  is 
said  to  have  brought  the  word  'brevarium'  into  general  use.* 

(i)    Epp.  136,  no,  113,  116,  173. 

(2)  Gaskoin,  op  cii.,  pp.  225-231.  For  the  text,  see  Ranke,  E., 
Perikopensystem,  appendix,  iv-xxvi. 

(3)  Gaskoin,  op.  cit.,  pp.  226-227. 

(4)  For  text,  see  Migne  CGI,  pp.  445-466. 

(5)  Suitable  prayers  were  interspersed  throughout  the  work,  and 
a  tabulation  of  these  under  fourteen  heads  concluded  the  work.  Ibid., 
pp.  465-508. 

(6)  Alcuin  uses  the  word  Breviarium  in  his  introduction :  ''Quia 
vos  rogastis,  ut  scriberemus  vobis  breviarium  comatico  sermone,"  et 
seq.  Ep.  304.  Cf.  Migne  CGI,  p.  509.  Batiflfol,  History  of  the  Roman 
Breviary,  p.  205.     For  text,  see  Migne,  GGI,  pp.  509-612. 


48  THE   LETTERS   OF   ALCUIN 

Along  with  his  liturgical  works  we  may  mention  his 
treatise  on  baptism,  written  to  a  priest  called  Odwin,  and 
designed  as  a  warning  to  the  monks  of  Septimania  against 
the  various  malpractices  of  the  Spanish  Church,  notably  the 
substitution  of  single  for  trine  immersion.^  This  work,  to- 
gether with  those  mentioned  alx)ve,  contains  the  form  of 
worship,  both  general  and  special,  for  ecclesiastical  services, 

Alcuin's  liturgical  works,  based  as  they  were  principally 
upon  the  older  Roman  liturgies,  must  have  greatly  aided 
Charles'  plans  for  establishing  ecclesiastical  uniformity 
throughout  the  Prankish  Church.  Moreover,  though  it  can- 
not be  very  definitely  proved,  there  is  some  evidence  to  show 
that  Alcuin  played  a  role  in  carrying  out  another  part  of 
Charles'  ecclesiastical  program,  namely,  the  revision  of  the 
Scriptures.  In  dedicating  his  Commentary  on  the  Book  of 
vSt.  John  to  Gisla  and  Rodtruda,  he  writes,  "I  should  have 
sent  you  the  whole  Commentarv  on  St.  John,  had  I  not  been 
fully  occupied  in  complying  with  the  king's  command  to 
amend  the  versions  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments."-  And 
again,  in  one  of  his  carmina  he  writes :  "Receive,  O  king, 
this  little  gift,  token  of  the  great  love  thy  Alcuin  bears  thee. 
The  great  ones  of  earth  bring  thee  precious  stones,  but  I  in 
my  poverty  bring  thee  these  two  little  books,  lest  on  that 
great  day  I  should  come  empty-handed  into  thy  presence, 
O  most  pious  and  revered  king.^  These  I  have  carefully 
corrected  and  bound  together  in  one  great  volume  and  have 
sent  them  to  you  through  the  medium  of  our  very  dear  son, 
our  faithful  servant."*  Thus  there  is  some  ground  for  ac- 
cepting the  tradition  that  the  Carolingian  revision  of  the 
Bible  was  the  work  of  Alcuin. 

(i)     Efy^.  134.  137-  (2)     Epp.  195,  262. 

(3)  Carmen,  65,  M.  G.  H.  Poet.  Lat.  Med.  Aev.,  op.  cit.,  I,  p.  283. 

(4)  Carvicn,  65,  69,  ibid.,  pp.  283.  284,  288.  It  appears  that  three 
Bibles  were  revised  by  him  or  under  his  inspection.  Cf.  Dedicatory 
Poems,  Carmen,  65,  ibid.,  I,  pp.  283-285. 


SOCIAL    AND    POLITICAL    CONDITIONS  49 

A  large  measure  of  Charles'  success  in  his  ecclesiastical 
reforms  was  due  to  the  effective  control  which  he  exercised 
over  the  Prankish  clergy.  This  was  made  possible  in  the 
first  place  by  his  assumption  of  the  right  to  appoint  the 
higher  clergy.  But  his  mastery  could  not  be  complete  until 
he  had  effected  such  an  organization  as  would  extend  his 
disciplinary  power  over  every  phase  of  ecclesiastical  activity. 
This  was  a  difficult  task  to  perform.  Owing  to  the  inter- 
ference of  the  Merovingian  kings,  the  whole  church  had 
tended  to  disintegrate ;  the  system  of  metropolitans  and  pro- 
vincial synods  was  gradually  dying  out  in  western  Europe;^ 
the  diocesan  bishops  were  becoming  more  and  more  inde- 
pendent ;  while  the  clergy,  especially  that  portion  which  may 
be  called  'unattached,'  were  less  and  less  inclined  to  obey 
their  Bishop.  The  unattached  clergy  were  very  numerous ; 
they  served  a  church  which  had  been  founded  upon  an  estate 
by  its  owner  and  were  appointed,  paid  and  removed  by  him ; 
they  were  thus  exempt  from  outside  interference,  civil  or 
ecclesiastical.^  Under  such  circumstances,  discipline  was 
clearly  impossible. 

Charles  the  Great  sought  a  remedy.  He  bent  his  energies 
to  secure,  first,  the  subordination  of  the  clergy  to  the  bishop 
in  the  chief  city  of  their  district;  second,  to  co-ordinate  the 
bishops  of  a  province  into  a  single  body  with  the  metropoli- 
tan at  their  head;  and  third,  of  course,  to  secure  the  de- 
pendence of  the  latter  upon  the  royal  or  imperial  power. 
The  administrative  machinery,  he  contemplated,  was  almost 
perfect  in  theory.  However,  evidences  are  not  lacking  to 
show  that  it  was  far  from  being  so  in  actual  practice.  In  his 
circular    letter    to    his  vassals  and  administrative  officers, 

(i)     Hatch,  op.  cit.,  pp.  124-126. 

(2)  Men  sold  churches  and  transferred  them.  "De  Ecclesiis  quae 
ab  ingenuis  hominibus  construuntur ;  Hcet  eas  tradere,  vendere.  .  .  ." 
Capitulary  Francofurt.,  794  A.D.,  cap.  54,  M.  G.  H.  Leg.,  op.  cit.,  II, 
I,  p.  78. 


50  THE   LETTERS   OF   ALCUIN 

Charles  complained  that  some  of  his  clergy  had  presumed  to 
disobey  their  bishops,  contrary  to  the  laws  and  the  canons, 
and  that  some  of  the  priests  had  been  installed  in  churches 
without  episcopal  consent/ 

As  a  remedial  measure,  looking-  especially  to  the  enforce- 
ment of  discipline,  Charles  ordered  the  priests  to  report  to 
the  bishops  once  a  year,  while  the  latter  were  also  required 
to  visit  every  priest's  church  annually.^  There  were  three 
purposes  subserved  by  these  visitations.  In  the  first  place,  it 
gave  the  bishops  an  opportunity  to  preach — an  important 
duty  which  they  commonly  neglected,  as  is  evident  from  the 
letters  of  Alcuin.  The  latter  never  lost  an  opportunity  to 
exhort  them  to  preach,  never  failed  to  praise  them  for  so 
doing,  nor  forgot  to  reprove  them  when  they  failed  in  this 
respect.^  In  the  second  place,  the  visitation  of  the  bishop 
enabled  him  to  check  those  heretical  practices  which  tended 
to  creep  into  the  administration  of  the  sacraments,  especially 
in  those  of  confirmation  and  baptism.  Alcuin,  for  example, 
in  view  of  the  heresies  of  the  Spanish  Church,  deemed  it 
necessary  to  give  the  most  complete  and  definite  instructions 
as  to  how  the  sacrament  of  baptism  was  to  be  administered 
to  catechumens.*  The  third  purpose  served  was  that  of  dis- 
cipline. From  the  time  of  Charles,  the  bishop  in  his  tour 
of  visitation  acted  partly  as  an  officer  of  the  church,  partly 
as  an  officer  of  the  state.  He  was  commonly  invested  with 
power  to  investigate  and  adjudge  cases  of  murder,  adultery, 
pagan-worship,  and  other  wrong-doings  contrary  to  the  laws 
of    God    and   man.     Indeed,  there  were  times  when  these 


(1)  M.  G.  H.  Leg.,  op.  cit.,  II,  I,  pp.  80,  52-62. 

(2)  Hatch,  op.  cit.,  p.  34. 

(3)  "Et  maxime  praedicatores  ecclesiae  Christi  caritatem  redemp- 
toris  nostri  per  verba  scdulae  praedicationis  populis  ostendant."  Ep.  136. 
Cf.  Epp.  301,  291,  169,  311,  114. 

(4)  Ep.  113.     Cf.  Ep.  68,  Jaffe,  VI,  op.  cit. 


SOCIAL    AND    POLITICAL    CONDITIONS  51 

administrative  and  judicial  duties  left  the  bishop  little  time 
for  his  spiritual  functions.^ 

Another  feature  of  the  organization  of  the  Prankish 
Church  in  Alcuin's  day  was  the  development  of  the  parochial 
system.  Two  sets  of  causes  operated  to  establish  it.  The 
first  of  these  centres  around  the  sacrament  of  baptism. 
Owing  to  the  disorganization,  incident  to  the  disruption  of 
the  Roman  empire,  the  elaborate  ceremonial  which  had  once 
attended  the  performance  of  this  sacrament  had  almost  died 
out,  inasmuch  as  it  had  become  increasingly  difficult  for  the 
catechumens  to  assemble  at  one  place  and  at  one  time,  as 
they  had  done  formerly.-  Consequently,  there  was  a  great 
lack  of  uniformity  and  much  irregularity  in  the  administra- 
tion of  this  sacrament.  Hence  it  became  necessary 
to  restrict  preaching  at  the  celebration  of  the  sacra- 
ments of  baptism,  mass  and  confirmation,  to  certain 
churches.^  These  were  called  'baptismal'  churches,  and 
they  naturally  obtained  precedence  and  developed  into  the 
parish  church. 

The  second  cause  v^^hich  contributed  to  the  establishment 
of  the  parish  was  the  tithes.  The  latter,  as  a  Christian  in- 
stitution, would  seem  to  date  from  the  eighth  century;  they 
are  hardly  mentioned  during  the  first  seven  centuries;  the 
regulations  of  councils  practically  ignore  them,  and  there 
are  no  civil  enactments  in  regard  to  them.'*  They  came  from 
the  state  to  the  church  and  were  originally  rents  paid  for 
the  church  lands  with  which  the  Prankish  kings  rewarded 

(i)  "De  angustia  mentis  vestrae  pro  servitio  saeculari  adversus 
sanctitatis  vestrae  dignitatem,  ita  ut  non  liceat  melioribus  instare  of- 
ficiis,  ne  animarum  gregis  Christi  lucris  inservire."    Ep.  265. 

(2)  Hatch,  op.  cit.,  pp.  83,  84. 

(3)  Concil.  Vernense,  c.  7,  755  A.D.  Hefele,  op.  cit.,  Ill,  p.  589. 
Cf.  Ep.  68,  Jaffe,  VI,  p.  316. 

(4)  The  first  special  mention  of  them  occurs  in  a  letter  of  Pope 
Zachary  in  748  A.D.  Jaffe  Regesta,  No.  2161.  The  fir.st  civil  enact- 
ment in  regard  to  them  is  Charles'  Capitulary  Rhispacensia  et  Frisingen- 
sia,  c.  13,  M.  G.  H.  Leg.,  Sect.  II,  I,  p.  228. 


52  THE   LETTERS   OF  ALCUIN 

their  soldiers.  It  was  this  which  made  Charles  so  anxious 
to  enforce  their  collection,  but  this  was  not  his  only  mo- 
tive. The  fact  that  they  were  paid  only  to  the  'baptismal' 
churches  tended  to  develope  the  parochial  system,  and 
strengthen  greatly  the  episcopal  authority.  Hence,  Charles 
was  particularly  desirous  that  the  Saxons  and  other  bar- 
barians should  pay  tithes,  inasmuch  as  they  furnished  him 
with  the  means  of  organizing  and  of  supporting  the  church 
upon  which  he  relied  for  help  in  civilizing  these  people. 
However,  it  is  evident  from  Alcuin's  lukewarm  support  of 
tithes  that  they  were  as  yet  far  from  being  a  fixed  tradition 
in  the  church.  "It  may  be  questioned,"  says  he,  "whether 
tithes  were  anywhere  exacted  by  the  apostles ;  and  if  we  our- 
selves, born  and  bred  in  the  faith,  do  not  care  to  give  tithes, 
how  much  more  must  the  fierce  barbarians,  lately  converted, 
resent  their  exaction."^  So  far  as  the  latter  were  concerned, 
he  felt  that  it  would  be  wise  to  relinquish  them  for  a  time, 
"even  at  the  expense  of  the  public  need."^ 

Alcuin's  objection  was  well  taken.  The  whole  ecclesias- 
tical policy  of  the  great  king  towards  the  barbarians  lacked 
something  of  that  spirit  of  moderation  which  marked  his 
dealings  with  his  own  people.  He  wished  to  make  the 
bounds  of  Christendom  coterminous  with  those  of  his 
kingdom ;  in  accomplishing  this  end  he  was  impatient,  harsh 
and  unscrupulous  in  his  dealings  with  the  barbarians.  Thus, 
prisoners  of  war  who  forswore  paganism  and  accepted  bap- 
tism, were  restored  to  liberty  and  freed  from  tribute:  while 
those  who  refused  to  do  so  were  beheaded.^  Alcuin  deplores 
this  policy  and  ventures  to  suggest  to  Charles  that  he  entreat 
the   barbarians   gently   as   "the   first    fruits   of   the   faith," 

(i)    Ep.  no,  p.  158. 

(2)  "Quia  forte  melius  est,  vel  aliquanto  spatio  ut  remittatur  pub- 
lica  necessitas,  donee  fides  cordibus  radicitus  inolescat."  Ep.  174,  p.  289. 
Cf.  Ep.  no,  p.  158. 

(3)  Vita  Stunttii.  M.  G.  H.  SS.,  op.  cit.,  II,  p.  376.  Cf.  Epp.  107, 
no,    HI,    113,   and   JafFe,    op.   cit.,   VI,   Ep.   68,    pp.   3n-3i8. 


SOCIAL    AND    POLITICAL    CONDITIONS  53 

teaching  them  and  encouraging  them  with  words  of  advice 
and  comfort.^  "If,"  says  he,  more  boldly,  elsewhere,  "the 
same  pains  had  been  taken  to  preach  to  them  the  easy  yoke 
and  light  burden  of  Christ  as  has  been  done  to  collect  tithes, 
and  to  punish  the  slightest  infringement  of  the  laws  on  their 
part,  then  they  would  no  longer  abhor  and  repel  baptism."^ 

However  mistaken  Charles'  policy  towards  the  barbarians, 
there  can  be  no  question  but  that  he  exercised  a  salutary  in- 
fluence on  the  Prankish  Church  in  general.  Under  his  im- 
pelling genius,  the  Church  of  the  West  acquired,  in  a  large 
measure,  that  organization  which  characterized  it  during  the 
Middle  Ages.  The  parochial  system  took  shape  and  form, 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  bishops  was  extended,  and  their  au- 
thority greatly  strengthened.  The  latter,  in  turn,  were  sub- 
jected to  the  metropolitan.  But  the  system  was  not  carried 
to  its  logical  conclusion;  for  the  metropolitans,  contrary  to 
the  plan  of  St.  Boniface,  were  the  subordinates,  not  of  the 
Papacy,  but  of  the  King  and  Emperor.  The  archbishops 
and  the  provincial  council,  except  in  matters  of  internal  dis- 
cipline, were  superseded  by  the  nation.  And  the  great 
Frankish  Church  he  had  organized  was  controlled  by  the 
national  assemblies,  to  which  he  summoned  laymen  and 
ecclesiastics  alike. 

The  third  institution  of  which  Alcuin  treats  is  the  Em- 
pire. Though  there  is  nothing  in  his  letters  that  sheds  new 
light  upon  the  circumstances  of  its  founding,  they  serve  well 
as  an  illustration  of  the  conception  of  the  empire  which  ob- 
tained in  his  day.  Contemporaries  are  at  one  in  regarding  it 
as  a  glorious  acquisition  of  the  Frankish  kingdom.  Alcuin 
speaks  of  the  "right  noble  Charles  who  governed  the  king- 
dom of  the  Franks  most  gloriously."^     He  and  his  con- 

(i)    £/>.  113.  (2)    Ep.  III. 

(3)  "Qui  modo  cum  triumphis  maximis  et  omni  dignitate  gloriosis- 
sime  Francorum  regit  imperium."  Vita  Sancti  Willihrordi,  cap.  23, 
Jaffe,  op.  cit.,  VI,  p.  56.     Cf.  '"Qui  regnum  Francorum  nobiliter  am- 


54  THE   LETTERS   OF   ALCUIN 

temporaries  view  Charles  as  king  and  emperor  from  the 
/.standpoint  of  the  Old  Testament  ideal.  To  them  he  is  a 
prophet-priest,  a  warrior-king.^  Chosen  of  God  to  lead  His 
faithful  people,  he  is  their  weapon  and  defence,  their  law- 
giver and  judge."  Divinely  inspired,  he  uses  his  marvellous 
gifts  to  humble  the  proud,  to  defend  the  lowly  and  to  in- 
struct all  his  people  in  the  ways  of  truth,  of  justice  and  of 
virtue.  Before  his  terrible  face,  the  pagans  flee  in  terror; 
under  his  overshadowing  wing,  a  Christian  people  rest  in 
peace.  In  his  hand  he  holds  a  conquering  sword,  from  his 
mouth  he  proclaims  Catholic  doctrine.^  Christianity  follows 
in  the  wake  of  his  army ;  he  makes  the  bounds  of  Christen- 
dom coterminous  with  those  of  his  kingdom  and  of  his  em- 
pire, and  by  enlarging  both  of  these  he  secures  peace  and 
safety  for  his  subjects.  To  these  glorious  ends,  he  has  been 
endowed  with  the  government  of  the  Church  and  of  the 
world.*  Like  unto  Joshua,  he  recalls  the  people  to  the  wor- 
ship of  the  true  God  by  means  of  his  warnings  and  of  his 
punishments.^  He  is  a  second  David,  a  mighty  prince  and 
ruler,  decreeing  laws  for  his  people,  defending  the  oppressed, 
cherishing  the  foreigner,  doing  justice  to  one  and  all,  and 
enlightening  his  people  with  the  light  of  knowledge  and  of 
truth."  His  greatest  glory,  Alcuin  says,  consists  in  this, 
that  he  has  most  earnestly  striven  to  lead  the  people  en- 

pliavit."  Vita  Caroli,  chap.  31,  M.  G.  H.  SS..  op.  cif.,  II,  p.  460. 
"Propter  dignitatem  imperii  quam  avus  regno  Francorum  adiecerat." 
Nuhard,  IV,  chap.  3,  ibid.,  p.  669.  Cf.  Ennoldi  Nigclli,  bk.  2  vv.  63, 
64,  67,  68.  ibid.,  pp.  479,  480. 

(1)  Ep.   174.     Cf.  Epp.   170.   171.  41.   217.   177. 

(2)  Ep.  174.  Cf.  Ep.  242.  Jaffe.  VI.  Cf.  Angilbert,  Carmen,  VI, 
vv.  63-64,  92.  93.     M.  G.  Poet.  Lat.  Med.  Aev.,  I,  pp.  366-369. 

(3)  Epp.  41,  171,  217.     Ep.  242  (Jafife). 

(4)  Ep.  242.  Jaffe,  VI,  p.  779,  780. 

(5)  Admonitio  Gcncralis,  M.  G.  H.  Leg..  Sect.  II,  I,  p.  54. 

(6)  "Ita  et  David  olim  praecedentis  popiili  rex  a  Deo  electus,  et 
Deo  dilectus  et  egregius  psalmista  Israheii  victrici  gladio  undique  gentes 
.<;iibiciens,  legisque  Dei  e.ximius  praedicator  in  populi  extitit."  Ep.  41. 
Cf.  Epp.  171,  198,  309. 


SOCIAL    AND    POLITICAL    CONDITIONS  55 

trusted  to  his  care  out  of  the  depths  of  darkness  into  the 
great  hght  of  the  true  faith. 

When  we  turn  from  the  Empire  itself  to  the  people,  we 
find  that  the  picture  which  Alcuin  presents  is  a  very  gloomy- 
one.  "The  times  are  perilous,"  he  writes,  "tribulation  fol- 
loweth  hard  upon  tribulation ;  the  people  are  in  poverty ;  the 
rulers  in  distress ;  the  church  beset  with  anxiety ;  its  priests 
in  dissension;  there  is  nothing  stable;  all  things  are  in  a 
state  of  unrest."^  Though  he  penned  this  letter  to  Arno 
in  a  moment  of  despondency,  it  is  nevertheless  a  tolerably 
accurate  picture  of  social  conditions  in  his  day. 

The  clergy,  who  were  the  natural  guides  of  the  people, 
were  far  from  being  examples  of  piety  and  good-living.  The 
'true  bill'  which  has  been  found  against  them  by  historians 
is  made  out  not  from  the  recorded  instances  of  the  miscon- 
duct of  individuals,  but  is  based  on  the  fact  of  repeated  leg- 
islation, as  well  as  on  the  testimony  of  the  most  noteworthy 
contemporaries  of  that  day.  In  both  these  sources,  the  ref- 
erences to  the  shortcomings  of  the  clergy  are  clear  and  in- 
controvertible. Alcuin  complains  that  they  are  vain,  ex- 
travagant in  dress,  and  haughty  in  bearing,  utterly  worldly 
in  fact ;-  they  listen  to  plays  rather  than  to  the  Scriptures ; 
they  prefer  the  'cithara'  to  the  sweet  music  of  the  Psalms.' 
Too  ignorant  to  write  their  own  sermons,  they  have  recourse 
to  homiliaries.*  They  share  the  worst  superstitions  of  the 
people,  believing  in  auguries  and  incantations.^  It  is  signifi- 
cant that  in  writing  to  Eanbald  II,  Archbishop  of  York,  he 


(i)    Ep,  193-  ^  .,       „  . 

(2)  Epp.  20,  40,  66,  114.  Cf.  Capitulary,  A  Sacerdohbus  Proposita, 
M.  G.  H.  Leg.,  Sect.  II,  I.  p.  107.     (3)     Ep.  124.       Cf.  Ep.  22,7. 

(4)  Alcuin  condones  this  practice.  Cf.  "Quid  est  omelia  nisi  praedi- 
catio."    Ep.  136. 

(5)  Alcuin  himself  admits  that  the  Devil  sometimes  uses  these  to 
ensnare  those  who  believe  in  them.  Ep.  17.  Cf.  "Indiculus  Super- 
stiiionum  et  Paganiorum,"  M.  G.  H.  Leg.,  Sect.  II,  I,  p.  223. 


56  THE   LETTERS   OF   ALCUIN 

should  have  admonished  him  not  to  let  "vain  babblings  nor 
scurrilous  language  proceed  out  of  his  mouth. "^ 

The  capitularies,  the  acts  of  church  councils,  and  the  regu- 
lations of  the  bishops  all  contain  even  more  specific  charges 
against  the  clergy.  They  accuse  the  latter  of  wasting  their 
time  in  hunting,  hawking  and  feasting."  Worse  still,  they 
indict  them  for  drunkenness  and  all  manner  of  lewdness. 
They  assert  that  some  clerics  sat  up  until  midnight  carousing 
with  their  companions ;  after  which  some,  drunken  and 
gorged,  returned  to  their  churches  quite  unfit  to  perform  the 
daily  and  nightly  services  of  the  Church,  while  others, 
*straw  drunk,'  sank  down  and  slept  off  their  debauch  in 
the  place  of  revel.^  Moreover,  devoted  as  they  were  to 
w^orldly  pleasures,  the  clergy  found  their  duties  irksome. 
They  disobeyed  their  Rule,  and  neglected  their  spiritual 
duties,  delegating  their  pastoral  work  to  vicars,  who  re- 
ceived the  spiritual  reward  which  should  have  been  theirs. 
Alcuin  declared  them  to  be  robbers  rather  than  pastors, 
seeking  their  own  interests  rather  than  those  which  be  of 
God.* 

Evidently,  the  wholesale  gifts  made  to  the  Church  during 
the  seventh  and  eighth  centuries  had  had  a  baleful  influence 
upon  it.  It  had  become  very  wealthy.  Alcuin  himself  as 
abbot  of  Tours  ruled  over  a  vast  tract  of  territory.^  With 
the  increase  of  wealth,  the  Christian  ministry  became  a 
lucrative  profession;  simony  was  rife;'''  the  clergy  became 
secularized.    Bishops  and  abbots  sought  to  extend  their  pos- 

(i)    Ep.  114.    Cf.  Ep.  40. 

(2)  Capit.,  10,  KarUnan,  M.  G.  H.  Leg.,  Sect.  II,  I,  pp.  24-43. 

(3)  M.  G.  H.  Leg.,  Sect.  II,  I,  pp.  91-99,  107,  440 

(4)  "Sint  praedicatores,  non  praedatores."  Ep.  in.  Cf.  Vita  Al- 
chuini,  chap.  6. 

(5)  Elipand  taunt.";  him  with  having  20,000  slaves.     Ep.  200. 

(6)  "Et  hoc  praecipuc  intendite,  ut  simoniaca  hercsis  funditus  sub- 
vertatur,  quae  male  dominatur  in  multis,  radicem  a  iudicibus  saecuH 
sumens,  ramos  usque  ad  ecclesiasticas  tendcns  pcrsonas  .  .  .  pene  apos- 
tolicam  inrepserunt  sedem."    Ep.  258,  p.  416. 


SOCIAL    AND    POLITICAL    CONDITIONS  57 

sessions  by  encroaching-  on  their  weaker  vassals.  Alcuin 
himself  complained  that  the  abbot  of  Limoges  was  trying  to 
exact  dues  from  his  monks,  over  and  above  those  sanctioned 
by  custom/  Moreover,  it  appears  that  the  clergy  did  not 
scruple  to  use  the  weapon  of  excommunication  as  a  means 
of  extorting  wealth.  Charles  accused  them  of  buying  slaves, 
allodia  and  other  property  for  themselves  and  gaining  wealth 
by  preying  upon  the  ignorance  of  rich  and  poor  alike."  Un- 
der such  pastors,  it  was  not  strange  that  the  morals  of  the 
people  became  vitiated ;  that  the  churches  were  left  without 
a  roof  or  used  as  storehouses  for  hay  and  provisions,  and 
the  altars  defiled  by  birds  and  dogs.^ 

The  evil  that  men  do  lives  after  them,  the  good  is  in- 
terred with  their  bones.  Hence,  Alcuin  as  a  reformer  de- 
votes more  attention  to  the  moral  obliquity  of  the  clergy 
than  to  their  good  qualities.  Yet  he  finds  something  worthy 
in  the  ecclesiastics  of  his  day.  His  friends  Arno,  Leidrad, 
Paulinus,  Theodulph  and  others  come  in  for  their  share  of 
praise;  and  he  commends  the  monks  of  Septimania,  of  Ire- 
land and  of  Yarmouth  most  highly.  Of  the  latter  he  writes, 
"It  is  your  greatest  glory  that  you  have  followed  your  Rule 
consistently,  both  in  dress  and  in  all  other  points  of  monastic 
discipline,  even  as  your  founder  did  establish  them."* 

Alcuin's  interest  lay  primarily  with  the  Church  and  the 
clergy;  he  says  little  of  the  laity,  and  that  little  does  not 
serve  to  put  them  in  a  favorable  light.  To  begin  with,  the 
nobles  of  the  court  undoubtedly  vexed  his  righteous  soul. 
In  a  letter  to*  his  pupil  Nathaniel,  he  warns  him  against  the 
ladies  of  the  court,  those  "crowned  doves  who  fly  about  the 

(i)  "Dicunt  enim ;  vestri  missi  mandassent  presbiteros  nostros;  de 
pane  modio  I  et  dimidio;  de  vino  modio  I ;  de  annona  ad  caballos  modia 
quattuor;  casios  VI;  ova  C."    Ep.  298. 

(2)  Capittila  missornvi,  M.  G.  H.  Leg.,  Sect.  II,  I,  p.  115. 

(3)  "Vidimus  quoque  aliquibus  in  Iocis_  neglegenter  altaria  Dei 
absque  tecto,  avium  stercoribus  vel  canum  "mictu  fedata."  Ep.  136. 
Cf.  Einhard,  Vita  Caroli,  op.  cit.,  chap.  17,  M.  G.  H.  SS.  II,  p.  452. 

(4)  £/>.  284. 


S8  THE   LETTERS   OF   ALCUIN 

palace  windows."^  Likewise,  he  enjoins  the  chaste  Gund- 
rada  to  be  an  example  to  the  other  ladies  of  the  court,  to 
the  end  that  they  may  keep  themselves  from  falling,  and  so 
remain  noble  in  morals  as  in  birth.-  Magharius,  too,  the 
wise  counsellor  of  the  king,  is  warned  not  to  let  worldly 
pleasure  or  carnal  delight  impede  him  in  his  labors.^  Even 
more  pointed  is  the  counsel  which  he  gives  to  Angilbert,  and 
to  Pippin,  king  of  Italy.*  To  Charlemagne  himself  he 
expatiates  on  the  charms  of  temperance,'^  and  on  one  occa- 
sion, at  least,  is  bold  enough  to  speak  of  the  king's  short- 
comings. "Behold  our  Solomon,"  says  he,  "resplendent  in 
his  diadem  and  crowned  with  virtue;  imitate  his  virtues  and 
avoid  his  vices."* 

The  nobles  are  as  venal  and  as  corrupt  as  they  are  im- 
moral. Alcuin  intimates  that  some  of  the  officials  were  not 
above  taking  bribes,  and  subverting  justice  to  their  own 
ends."  He  has  this  in  mind  when  he  admonishes  Charles 
to  have  wise  counsellors  about  him,  pious.  God-fearing  men, 
lovers  of  truth,  not  given  to  covetousness.  "Let  no  one 
tarnish  your  good  name  by  dishonesty,"  says  he,  "for  the 
faults  of  the  servants  are  often  ascribed  to  the  Prince."* 
Likewise,  he  urges  the  judges  and  princes  to  rule  the  people 
wisely,  and  to  judge  them  honestly,  being  fathers  to  the 
widow  and  orphans;  for  in  the  justice  of  the  prince  lieth  the 
happiness  of  the  people.'''  Theodulph  of  Orleans  is  even 
more  outspoken  than  Alcuin  in  this  connection.  "I  have 
seen  judges,"  says  he,  "who  were  slow  to  attend  to  the 
duties  of  their  office,  though  prompt  enough  to  take  its  re- 
wards. Some  arrive  at  the  fifth  hour,  and  depart  at  the 
ninth;  others,  if  the  third  hour  sees  them  on  the  bench, 

(i)    Ep.  244,  p.  392.    (2)    Ep.  241.    Cf.  Ep.  309. 

(3)    Ep.  33-     (4)     Epp.  221,  237,  119. 

(5)     De  Rhcturica,  Migne  CCI,  p.  941.     (6)     Ep.  309. 

(7)  "Neque  subieclos  tiiae  potcstati  indices  permittas  per  sportulas 
"vel  praemia  iudicare."    Ep.  188.     Cf.  Ep.  217. 

(8)  Ep.  217.     (9)     Ep.  18. 


SOCIAL    AND    POLITICAL    CONDITIONS  59 

will  rise  therefrom  at  the  sixth.  But  if  there  is  a  brihe  to 
receive,  the  same  men  will  be  in  court  before  the  prima."^ 
Moreover,  where  perchance  the  officials  were  not  actually 
rapacious  or  unjust,  they  were  inclined  to  neglect  their 
'placita'  for  the  pleasures  of  the  chase.^  No  doubt  Charles' 
missi  had  a  strenuous  time  in  enforcing  justice  throughout 
the  Frankish  realm.  And  it  wouhd  appear  that  the  more 
conscientiously  they  fulfilled  their  duties,  the  more  un- 
popular they  became.^ 

Yet  Alcuin  finds  something  to  praise  in  the  laity  of  his 
day.  There  are  some  honorable,  upright  men  among  them, 
some  virtuous  women;  first  and  foremost  among  the  latter 
is  the  'noblest  of  the  noble,'  the  fair  Gundrada.  She  it 
was  who,  amid  the  license  of  the  court,  had  attained  to  the 
enviable  reputation  of  being  chaste  as  no  other  lady  of  the 
day.^  Among  the  men  are  Eric,  Duke  of  Friuli,  Gerald  of 
Bavaria,  and  Megenfrid  the  Treasurer,  all  of  whom  Alcuin 
finds  it  in  his  heart  to  praise  most  warmly.  Naturally, 
however,  it  is  his  master,  Charles  the  Great^^who  comes  in 
for  most  of  his  attention  and  adulation.  As  the  life-long 
friend  and  trusted  counsellor  of  the  king,  he  had  ample 
opportunity  to  observe  his  character,  and  so  well  did  he  do 
so  that  Charlemagne  stands  forth  from  his  pages  in  all 
his  majesty,  a  sublime  figure,  commanding  the  admiration 
of  the  ages.  There  is  a  significant  lack  of  legend  and  of 
myth  in  his  portrayal.  It  is  a  living  being  that  he  depicts, 
a  man  with  great  faults  notwithstanding  his  splendid  vir- 
tues As  we  see  him  through  the  medium  of  Alcuin, 
he    is    a    mighty    man    of     war,      tireless     of     energy, 

(i)  Theodulph,  Versus  Contra  Indices,  vv,  391-396,  M.  G.  H.  Poet. 
Lat.  Med.  Aev.,  op.  cit.,  I,  p.  493,  et  seq. 

(2)  "Volumus  atque  jubemus  ut  comites  nostri  propter  venationem 
et  alia  ioca  placita  sua  non  dimittant  nee  ea  minuta  faciant."  Capitula 
de  Causis  Divcrsis,  M.  G.  H.  Leg.,  Sect.  II,  I,  p.  135. 

(3)  Capitula  a  missis  dominicis  ad  comites  directa,  chap.  5,  ibid.,  I, 
p.  184. 

(4)  Ep.  309. 


60  THE   LETTERS   OF  ALCUIN 

quick  of  thought,  prompt  to  act ;  in  fact,  a  born  leader  of 
men  with  a  genius  for  organization  and  command.  Withal, 
there  is  much  of  the  barbarian  about  him ;  he  is  in- 
describably fierce  towards  his  foes,  ruthless  and  wantonly 
cruel  at  times.  On  several  occasions,  Alcuin  finds  it  neces- 
sary to  plead  with  him  to  be  merciful.  "Be  not  forgetful," 
says  he,  "of  the  captives  which  Providence  granted  thee  in 
thy  victory  over  the  Avars;  if  it  be  possible,  spare  some 
of  them."^  Again,  he  suggests  that  his  lord  the  king  should 
vary  the  clash  of  arms  and  the  strident  peal  of  the  horn, 
with  the  softer  notes  of  music,  to  the  end  that  the  fierce 
souls  of  the  warriors  might  be  softened.- 

While  not  blind  to  the  faults  of  his  great  master,  Alcuin, 
like  the  rest  of  his  contemporaries,  is  dazzled  by  his  genius. 
At  times  he  seems  to  be  under  a  spell,  and  then  he  is  quite 
as  extravagant  as  other  contemporaries,  whose  judgment 
is  less  discriminating  than  his.  In  such  a  mood  he  pic- 
>vv.  tures  Charles  )(as  a  great  Christian  emperor,  whose  piety 
shines  forth  as  bright  as  the  rays  of  the  sun."  The  em- 
bodiment of  virtue  himself,  he  incites  all  classes  of  his 
people  to  deeds  of  virtue;  to  the  soldiers  he  teaches  skill 
in  the  use  of  arms,  inspiring  them  with  constancy  and 
courage ;  the  clergy  and  the  people  he  enjoins  to  obey 
in  all  humility;  his  counsellors  and  judges  he  leads  in  the 
path  of  wisdom  and  justice.*  Thus  does  he  rule  his  people, 
decreeing  laws,  defending  the  oppressed,  cherishing  the 
foreigner,  and  enlightening  his  people  with  truth  and 
knowledge.^  "Happy  the  people,"  says  Alcuin,  "over  whom 
Providence  has  placed  so  wise  and  so  pious  a  ruler,  who 
(i)    Ep.  118.    (2)    Ep.  149. 

(3)  Ep.  242  (JaflFe).  Cf.  Angilbert.  Carmen,  VI.  vv,  12-15,  M-  G. 
H.  Poet.  Lat.  Med.  Aev.,  op  cit.,  I,  p.  366.  Theodulph,  Carmen,  35,  36, 
ibid,  pp.  526-528. 

(4)  Epp.  177,  136.  Cf.  Theodulph,  Ep.  24,  M.  G.  H.  Epistolarum, 
IV,  p.  534.     Also  Pauliniis  Aqiiila,  Ep.  43.     Aligne,  XCIX,  pp.  508-509. 

(5)  Epp.  229,  177.  Cf.  Einhard,  P'ita,  op.  cit.,  chap.  21,  M.  G.  H. 
SS.  II,  p.  455- 


SOCIAL    AND    POLITICAL    CONDITIONS  61 

excelleth  all,  not  alone  in  majesty  and  power,  but  in  wis- 
dom and  religious  zeal  as  well."^  These  expressions  are 
repeated,  until  one  feels  that  Alcuin  had  some  merit  as  a 
courtier  as  well  as  a  scholar. 

With  immorality  and  license  prevailing  among  the 
nobility,  w^e  need  not  look  for  enlightenment  or  religious 
zeal  among  the  lower  classes  in  Frankland.  The  people 
gave  free  reign  to  their  passions,  and  imitated  the  vices 
of  the  nobility.  They  were  especially  given  to  drunken- 
ness, and  prone  to  deeds  of  violence  and  bloodshed.^  Im- 
poverished by  the  continual  wars  of  Charles'  reign,  op- 
pressed by  their  superiors,  lay  and  ecclesiastical,  too  brutal 
to  command  respect,  too  ignorant  and  too  helpless  to  effect 
any  ameHoration  of  their  condition,  their  lot  was  a  hard 
one.  They  were  being  reduced  to  beggary  and  even  to 
slavery,  as  Charles  himself  admits.  'Tf  a  poor  man,"  says 
he,  'Svill  not  give  up  his  property  to  a  bishop,  abbot  or  count, 
these  make  some  excuse  for  getting  him  into  trouble  with 
the  courts,  or  they  order  him  continually  on  military 
service  until  the  man  surrenders  or  sells  his  property."^ 
The  noblest  spirits  of  the  time  were  alive  to  the  fearful 
degradation  of  the  people;  nor  did  they  fail  to  express  their 
pity.  Nevertheless,  there  was  a  good  deal  of  contempt 
mingled  with  their  sympathy.  Thus  Alcuin,  while  enjoin- 
ing upon  the  lords  the  necessity  of  being  just  and  merciful 
towards  the  people,  felt  that  the  latter  ought  to  obey  a  just 
ruler  with  thankful  hearts.  Alcuin  expressly  repudiated 
the  maxim,  'Vox  populi,  vox  Dei,'  maintaining  that  the 
voice  of  the  people  was  the  voice  of  madmen.'* 

Bad  as  were  the  social  conditions  in  Frankland,  those 
in  England  were  even  worse.     Alcuin's  account  is  one  long 

(i)    Epp.  171,  229,  121.    (2)  Epp.  246,  249,  119.  18,  121,  58,  172,  150. 

(3)  De  Rebus  Exercitalihus,  M.  G.  H.  Leg.,  Sect.  II,  I,  p.  165. 

(4)  "Nee  audiendi,  qui  solent  dicere ;  vox  populi.  vox  Dei.  Cum 
tumultuositas  vulgi  semper  insaniae  proxima  sit."    Ep.  132. 


OF  TMl 

IVEH«fTY 


V.c>. 


I  iFriftl 


62  THE   LETTERS   OF  ALCUIN 

chronicle  of  invasion  from  without,  of  schism  and  disorder 
from  witliin.  He  cries  out  in  despair  over  the  ruin  of  the 
monasteries,  over  the  decHne  of  learning,  over  the  social 
and  political  disorder  rampant  everywhere.  "Lo,"  he  says, 
"a  pagan  people  lay  waste  our  shores,  pillaging  and  plunder- 
ing at  will;  the  princes  and  people  are  rent  with  dissen- 
sions; while  learning  perishes  in  our  midst."^  With  touch- 
ing sorrow  Alcuin  depicts  the  desecration  of  the  churches. 
"Alas,"  says  he,  "the  Church  of  St.  Cuthbert,  so  honored 
by  all  the  people  of  Britain,  hath  been  given  over  wholly  to 
the  pagans  for  plunder;  despoiled  of  its  ornaments,  bereft 
of  its  glories,  it  has  been  spattered  with  the  blood  of  its 
priests.  Verily,  if  the  Holy  St.  Cuthbert  cannot  defend 
his  own  in  that  place  where  religion  was  first  implanted 
in  our  race,  verily  there  remaineth  naught  for  us  to  do  save 
to  cry  out,  'Spare,  O  Lord,  spare  thy  people,  and  give  not 
thine  inheritance  unto  the  heathen,  lest  they  say,  where 
is  the  Christians'  God  ?'  "^ 

The  internal  dissensions  among  the  princes  and  people 
of  England  were  even  more  baleful  in  their  influence  than 
the  devastations  of  the  Norsemen.  The  political  unrest, 
which  liad  characterized  the  Anglo-Saxons  before  and  since 
their  advent  into  Britain,  was  much  in  evidence  in  iVlcuin's 
day.  According  to  his  testimony,  the  English  kingdoms 
had  been  most  unhappy  as  to  the  princes  who  had  been 
chosen  to  rule  over  them.  Everywhere  they  had  declined 
in  those  qualities  which  had  been  wont  to  make  them  a 
blessing  to  their  people  and  a  terror  to  the  enemy.^  They 
were  tyrants,  not  rulers;  for  they  plundered  their  people 
shamelessly.*  The  whole  land  was  a  prey  to  intestine 
strife;  rival  claimants  to  the  throne  murdered  and  nillao-ed 
regardless  of  their  subjects;'^  nobles  warred  on  nobles,  and 

(i)    Ep.  129.    (2)    Ep.  16.    Cf.  Ep.  20. 

(3)    Ep.  130.    (4)   Epp.  16,  9,  109,  115.    (5)   Epp.  109,  127,  128,  122. 


SOCIAL    AND    POLITICAL    CONDITIONS  63 

oppressed    the    people;  everywhere  except  in  Mercia^  was 
black  ruin,  anarchy  and  disintegration. 

The  clergy  of  England  were  almost  as  bad  as  the 
nobility.  There  was  no  sympathy,  no  co-operation  between 
the  higher  ecclesiastics;  there  was  coldness  between  the 
archbishops  of  York  and  of  Canterbury;"  while  between  the 
latter  and  the  lately  established  archbishopric  of  Lichfield,' 
there  was  actual  strife.  Again,  the  higher  clergy  were 
inclined  to  take  a  hand  in  the  political  disturbances  of  the 
day.  Thus  the  archbishop  of  York  interfered  in  the  dis- 
sensions of  Northumbria  with  little  credit  to  himself,  and 
less  profit  to  the  church.*  The  bad  example  set  by  the 
nobility,  lay  and  ecclesiastical,  had  a  most  deleterious  effect 
upon  the  lower  clergy  and  the  common  people.  "If,"  says 
Alcuin,  "there  proceeds  from  the  nobility  and  the  clergy, 
the  fountains  of  faith  and  truth,  naught  but  turmoil  and 
infidelity,  we  can  expect  but  little  from  the  people."^  The 
clerics  are  distinguished  from  the  laymen  by  their  tonsure 
alone;  in  all  things  else  they  are  reprehensible  as  the  laity 
themselves,  as  vain  in  dress,  as  haughty  in  bearing,  as 
much  given  to  feasting,  drinking  and  such  like  things.^ 
The  regular  clergy  are  as  bad  as  the  secular;  they  live  in 
luxury,  and  devote  themselves  to  worldly  enjoyments,  being 
more  like  laymen  than  monks;  they  neglect  their  Rule,  es- 
pecially that  part  intended  for  their  edification;  as  they  sit 
at  meat,  they  prefer  to  listen  to  plays  instead  of  having 
one   of   their   number    read    from   the    Scriptures    or   the 

(i)  Even  Offa,  king  of  Mercia,  does  not  escape  Alcuin's  censure. 
Epp.  122,  123. 

(2)  Epp.    127,    128. 

(3)  Eventually  the  archbishopric  of  Lichfield  was  suppressed. 
Epp.  128.  255- 

(4)  Ep.   232.     (5)     Ep.   122. 

(6)  "Quae  magna  ex  parte  diu  corrupta  viluit  et  pene  laicorum 
vanitate  coaequata  est,  ita  ut  tonsura  tantummodo  discreta  videtur; 
ceterum  moribus  multa  ex  parte  consimilis,  ceu  in  vestimentorum  vani- 
tate et  arrogantia  et  conviviorum  superfiuitate  et  aliis  rebus."  Ep.  230. 
Cf.  Ep.  129. 


64  THE  LETTERS   OF  ALCUIN 

Fathers,  as  their  Rule  commands/  As  might  be  expected, 
the  people  are  much  harmed  by'  such  conduct ;  they  follow 
not  in  the  footsteps  of  their  fathers;  neither  in  dress  nor 
in  good  living  do  they  pattern  themselves  after  their  worthy 
ancestors;  but  in  their  mad  folly,  they  seek  out  some  new 
thing  as  unprofitable  to  themselves  as  it  is  displeasing  to 
God.^  "A  time  of  great  tribulation  has  come  over  our 
land"  wails  he,  "the  faith  is  losing  ground;  God's  truth  is 
not  spoken,  malice  and  arrogance  everywhere  abound  to 
the  misery  of  the  people.  The  sacred  places  are  devastated 
by  the  heathen,  the  altars  desecrated  by  perjury,  the  mon- 
astries  defiled  by  adulter}^  and  the  soil  of  England  stained 
by  the  blood  of  its  princes.  Verily,'  concludes  Alcuin,  'we 
are  a  race  of  evil-doers,  a  people  laden  with  iniquity,  a 
sinful  nation,  whom  God  will  punish  as  in  the  olden  time^ 
unless  we  deserve  well  of  Him  by  earnest  prayer,  stead- 
fast faith  and  upright  living."^ 

Against  the  degradation  of  society  which  we  have  just 
described,  the  church  effected  a  partial  remedy  through 
monasticism.  The  latter  had  worked  silently  for  at  least 
a  century,  before  its  influence  showed  itself  on  the  common 
life  of  the  clergy  in  the  tangible  form  of  a  canonical  rule. 
This  was  one  of  the  chief  results  of  the  great  ecclesiastical 
reformation  of  the  Carolingian  Age,  brought  about  by  the 
co-operation  of  church  and  state.*  The  immediate  purpose 
subserved  by  the  rule  was  that  of  discipline;  at  the  same 
time  it  made   for  education   and   edification,   inasmuch  as 

(i)    £/>.  124,  p.  183.    (2)    Ep.  122,  p.  179. 

(3)  Epp.  122,  20,  17,  22. 

(4)  The  first  mention  of  a  canonical  rule  was  in  the  decree  of  the 
Council  of  Vernon  in  755— M.  G.  H.  Leg.,  Sect.  II,  i,  p.  36.  A  little 
later  Chrodegang  of  Metz  drew  up  his  famous  rule,  and  in  802  a 
capitulary  of  Charles  required  his  priests  to  live  according  to  the  canons 
under  the  supervision  of  a  bishop,  sleeping  in  a  common  dormitory, 
eating  at  a  common  refectory,  and  living  according  to  a  common  rule. 
Capitulare  Missorum  Gcncralc,  chaps.  21,  22,  M.  G.  H.  Leg.,  Sect.  II, 
I,  pp.  95-96. 


SOCIAL    AND    POLITICAL    CONDITIONS  65 

the  hours  of  the  day  and  night  were  apportioned  to  definite 
occupations.  These,  as  Alcuin  intimates,  were  chiefly 
reading  and  praying/  Thus,  by  means  of  the  canonical 
rule,  the  prevalent  ignorance  of  the  clergy  was  lessened, 
learning  became  more  and  more  a  necessary  ingredient  of 
their  lives.  Furthermore,  such  great  bishops  as  Arno, 
Theodulph,  Leidrad,  and  others,  arose  to  lend  their  whole- 
souled^  support  to  Charles'  noble  effort  to  enlighten  his 
people. 

(i)    Ep.  114. 


CHAPTER  III 

ALCUIN   AS   A   TEACHER 

During  the  seventh  and  the  early  part  of  the  eight^cen- 
turiy/the  intellectual  life  of  Frankland  had  reached  a  very- 
low  CTbb.  The  disorders  incident  to  the  Prankish  invasion, 
and  the  anarchy  of  the  Merovingian  rule  later  on,  had 
forced  learning  to  take  refuge  in  the  church  and  in  the 
monastery.  These  asylums  of  learning  became  so  demor- 
alized that  those  traditions,  which  had  found  their  way 
from  the  ancient  Gallic  schools  into  those  of  the  Franks 
were  almost  completely  lost;  of  philosophy  and  literature 
there  was  nothing ;  the  Latin  language  was  being  forgotten, 
and  when  spoken  it  was  without  rule  or  grammar.  Worse 
still,  the  voice  of  the  teacher  was  all  but  silent  in  the  city 
and  in  the  monastery;  idleness  and  vice  had  followed  hard 
upon  the  decline  of  learning,  until  monk  and  priest  who 
ought  to  have  been  the  intelligent  teachers  of  their  people, 
had  degenerated  so  far  as  to  lose  well-nigh  even  the  instinct 
for  moral  life,^ 

Conditions  would  probably  have  been  even  worse  had 
not  Charles  Martel  introduced  some  semblance  of  order  and 
quiet  into  society,  not  alone  by  his  defeat  of  the  Saxons 
and  Saracens,  but  also  by  his  determined  suppression  of 
the  Prankish  nobles  and  bishops.     By    freeing    Prankland 

(i)     HaureaiJ,  B.,  Histoire  dc  la  Philosophic  Scolasiiquc,  part  I,  p. 
3.  6-7;  cf.  Mullingcr.  J.  B.  Schools  of  Charles  the  Great  and  the  Restora- 
tion of  Education  in  the  Ninth  Century,  pp.  37-39:  Ebert  Ad.  Allge- 
vieine  Geschichte  der  Literatur  des  Mittelalters  in  Abendlande,  Vol.  II, ' 
pp.  3-1 1. 

66 


ALCUIN   AS   A    TEACHER  ■  67 

from  dangers  without  and  from  dissensions  within,  by 
teaching  the  bishops  and  abbots  that  they  must  do  some- 
thing more  than  hfent,  drink  and  fight/  he  prepared  the  way 
for  Alcuin  and  Charles,  and  made  possible  that  intel- 
lectual revival  which  their  efforts  inaugurated.^  Nor  were 
evidences  of  improvement  lacking  even  before  their  day. 
Here  and  there  some  scholar,  like  Abbot  Gregory  of 
Utrecht,  had  tried  more  or  less  successfully  to  redeem  the 
character  of  his  school,  and  to  revive  learning  in  his  juris- 
diction. At  Metz,  Chrodegang  had  drawn  up  his  famous 
rule  and  inculcated  the  urgent  duty  of  educating  the  young. 
At  St.  Gall,  the  monk  Winidhar  had  begun  to  transcribe 
manuscripts  and  so  laid  the  foundations  of  the  noble  library 
there.^  Thus  the  Prankish  people  were  ripe  for  a  literary 
revival;  realizing  their  needs  they  had  become  receptive, 
and  already  they  possessed  eager  students,  both  Anglo- 
Saxon  and  Prankish,  who  would  give  their  hearty  sympathy 
and  co-operation  to  him  who  would  promote  and  organize 
learning.     Such  a  person  was  Charles  the  Great. 

It  was  the  aim  of  Charles  to  spread  secular  and  ecclesias- 
tical learning  among  his  people,  to  the  end  that  religion 
might  be  promoted,  their  morals  reformed,  and  their  whole 
intellectual  life  deepened.  Manifestly,  his  work  had  to  be- 
gin with  the  clergy,  for  through  them,  and  them  alone, 
as  the  only  teachers  of  the  day*,  could  he  hope  to  advance 

(i)  Cf.  Capitulary  of  Karlmann,  dated  April  2ist,  742,  cap.  2,  M. 
G.  H.  Leg..  Sect.  II,  I,  p.  25. 

(2)  Haureau.  op.  cit.,  part  I,  pp.  6-7.  Cf.  Roger,  L'Enscignement 
des  Lettrcs  classiques  d'Ausone  a  Alcuin,  pp.  428-9;  Hauck,  II,  op.  cit., 
pp.  168-71  ;  Gaskoin,  Alctiin,  pp.  171-2;  West.  Alcuin,  p.  41. 

(3)  Hauck,  op.  cit.  II,  pp.  168-171 ;  Roger,  op.  cit.,  pp.  428-429; 
Gaskoin,  op.  cit.,  I7^.  F.  A.  Sflecht,  Geschichte  des  Unterriclitszvcsens 
in  Deutschland  bis  stir  Mitte  des  dreisehnten  Jahrhtmdert,  pp.  10-12, 
266-268. 

(4)  That  Charles  found  mjich  to  amend  in  the  lives  of  his  clergy 
is  evident  from  capitulary  ig,  caps.  15  &  16:  "Sacerdotes,  qui  rite  non 
sapiunt  adimplere  minister^um  suum  nee  discere  iuxta  pracccptum 
.  .  .  .  quia  ignorantes  legem  Dei  earn  aliis  annuntiare  et  praedicare 
non  possunt."  AI.  G.  H.  Leg.  I,  p.  46. 


68  THE   LETTERS   OF  ALCUIN 

the  civilization  of  his  people.  Accordingly,  he  exhorted 
the  clergy  to  the  study  of  the  Scriptures  and  of  the  Liberal 
Arts,  which  they  had  so  long  neglected.^  •  "It  is  our  wish," 
says  he,  *'that  you  may  be  what  it  behooves  the  soldiers 
of  Christ  to  be,  religious  in  heart,  learned  in  discourse,  pure 
in  act,  so  that  all  that  approach  your  house  in  order  to  in- 
voke the  Divine  Master,  or  to  behold  the  excellence  of  re- 
ligious life,  may  be  edified  in  seeing  you  and  instructed  by 
hearing  your  discourse  and  chant.'"*  Likewise,  the  whole 
people  were  to  devote  themselves  to  learning,  laymen  were 
to  send  their  sons  to  study  'letters,'  and  the  youths,  work- 
ing with  all  diligence,  were  to  remain  in  school  until  they 
had  been  instructed  in  learning." 

Fortunately  for  the  furtherance  of  his  educational  policy, 
Charles  could  count  on  the  support  of  such  able  men  as 
Alcuin,  Paulinus  of  Aquila,  Leidrad  of  Lyons,  and  others. 
Alcuin  set  the  seal  of  his  enthusiastic  approval  upon  the 
plans  of  Charles  for  the  education  of  his  people.  In  a  letter 
to  the  latter,  he  praised  him  for  his  zeal  in  pursuing  the 
study  of  the  stars,  and  added :  ''If  only  a  great  many  would 
imitate  your  splendid  zeal  for  such  studies,  mayhap  a  new 
and  even  more  excellent  Athens  might  arise  in  Frankland, 
for  this  our  Athens,  having  Christ  the  Lord  for  its  master, 
would  surpass  all  the  wisdom  of  the  studies  of  the 
Academy."*  Evidently  Alcuin  had  high  hopes  of  accom- 
plishing great  things  for  the  enlightenment  of  Frankland. 
l/  The  tasks  which  awaited  Alcuin  and  his  royal  master 

were  many  and  varied.  First,  the  Palace  School  w^as  to  be 
reorganized,  and  the  king's  own  energetic  attempts  at  self- 
education  superintended;  there  were  the  parish,  monastic 
and  cathedral  schools  to  be  established  or  improved,  and  a 

(i)     "Oblitteiatam  pene  niaiorum  nostrorum  desidia  reparare  vigil- 
ianti  studio  litteraruni."  M.  G.  H.  Leg.  Sect.  II,  I,  p.  80. 

(2)     Ibid.,  Vol.  I.,  p.  79.     (3)    Admonitio  Generalis,  ibid.,  I,  p.  60. 
(4;     Ep.  170. 


ALCUIN   AS   A    TEACHER  69 

clergy  sufficiently  learned  and  worthy  to  administer  the  sac- 
raments was  to  be  created.  Finally,  it  was  necessary  to 
revise  the  liturgy  so  as  to  make  it  conform  to  the  Roman 
use,  and  it  was  equally  urgent  to  amend  the  biblical  and 
other  manuscripts,  which  were  in  a  most  deplorable  condi- 
tion owing  to  the  ignorance  of  the  Merovingian  tran- 
scribers. /^ 

Their  task  was  a  gigantic  one.  The  schools  were  few 
in  number  and  woefully  defective,  while  teachers  were 
very  hard  to  procure.^  Then,  too,  books  were  scarce,  in- 
asmuch as  many  had  been  lost  or  destroyed  during  the 
Merovingian  period."  In  one  of  his  letters  to  Charles, 
Alcuin  asked  permission  to  send  some  of  his  pupils  from 
Tours  to  obtain  some  of  the  books  he  had  left  at  York, 
in  order  that  the  rich  fruits  of  learning  might  be  found 
not  only  in  "the  gardens  there,  but  also  by  the  pleasant 
waters  of  the  Loire. "^  And  if  the  rich  abbey  of  St.  Mar- 
tin's lacked  for  books, — the  abbey  supervised  by  Alcuin  him- 
self, and  doubtless  enriched  by  his  own  books,  as  well  as 
by  copies  of  those  in  use  at  the  Palace  School, — one  can 
readily  imagine  that  there  must  have  been  scanty  if  any 
traces  of  a  library  in  the  majority  of  the  monasteries  else- 
where. Moreover,  many  of  the  books  were  quite  untrust- 
worthy, for  the  manuscripts  had  been  carelessly  copied,  and 
often  mutilated,  owing  to  the  gross  ignorance  of  the  tran- 
scribers. Furthermore,  the  conditions  prevailing  at  that 
time  increased  the  difficulties  of  the  mediaeval  scholar.  The 
roads  were  well-nigh  impassable:  the  seas  swarmed  with 

(i)  "Scholam  in  eodem  coenobio  esse  instituit  quoniam  omnes  pene 
ignaros  literarum  invenit  .  .  .  optimisque  cantilenae  sonis,  quantum 
temporis  ordo  sinebat,  edocuit."  Gesta  Abbatum  Fontancllcnshwi  a. 
787  M.  G.  H.  SS.  II.  p.  292. 

(2)  "Sed  ex  parte  desunt  mihi,  servulo  vestro,  exquisitiores  erudi- 
tionis  scolasticae  libelli,  quos  habui  in  patria  per  bonam  et  devotissimam 
magistri  mei  industriam  vel  etiam  mei  ipsius  qualemcumque  sudorem." 
Ep.  121.     Cf.  Ep.  80. 

(3)  Ep.  121. 


70  THE   LETTERS   OF  ALCUIN 

pirates,  and  the  land  was  a  prey  to  chronic  warfare/  Hence 
communication  was  uncertain  and  messengers  were  not  to 
be  relied  upon.^  On  more  than  one  occasion  Alcuin  com- 
plained rather  bitterly  of  these  untoward  circumstances.  In 
a  letter  to  Sigulfus,  he  tell^  us :  "Our  memory  is  fickle  at 
times.  We  forget  *  what  we  ought  to  retain,  especially 
when  we  are  distracted  by  worldly  affairs,  and  inasmuch  as 
we  cannot  carry  our  IxDoks  with  us  because  of  their  weight, 
we  must  abbreviate  at  times  in  order  that  the  precious  pearl 
of  wisdom  be  light  enough  for  the  weary  traveller  to  bear 
it  with  him  for  his  refreshment."^ 

Alcuin  gives  us  elsewhere  a^  even  more  striking  picture 
of  the  difiiculties  and  limitations  of  scholars  in  his  day.  In 
his  poem  De  Sanctis  Ehoraccnsis  Ecclcsiae,  he  describes  for 
us  the  library  of  the  Cathedral  School  at  York.  The  latter, 
which  Alcuin  himself  had  helped  to  collect,  though  one  of 
the  largest  in  its  day,  seems  pitifully  small  and  inadequate 
to  modern  eyes.  It  is  hardly  likely  that  it  comprised  more 
than  one  or  two  hundred  books ;  and  yet  these  contain  prac- 
tically all  of  the  learning  of  that  time.  It  is  significant  that 
Alcuin  begins  his  description  of  the  library  by  enumerat- 
ing the  Church  Fathers  to  be  found  there.  At  the  head 
of  the  list  are  Jerome,  Hilary,  Ambrose  aiTic^\ugustine, 
after  whom  come  Athanasius,  Orosius,  Gre^ff,  Leo  and 
Basil.  Fulgentius,  Cassiodorus,  Chrysostom  and  John*  com- 
plete the  list.  Then  follow  the  teachers,  philosophers,  his- 
torians, rhetoricians :  these  are  Aldhelm,  Bede,  Victorinus, 
Boethius,   Pompeius  and  Pliny,  together  with  the  'subtle 

(i)    Ef^fy.  6,  7,  i6,  20,  21,  22,  82,  109. 

(2)  "Sed  miiltum  mcae  nocct  devotion!  infidelitas  accipicntium  lit- 
teras  meas  vobis  dirigcndas."    Ep.  254.     Cf.  Epp.  253.  167,  265.  28. 

(3)  "Et  quia  pondera  librorum  nobiscum  portari  ncqueunt,  ideo 
aliquotics  brevitati  studendum  est,  iit  levi  sit  pondere  pretiosa  sapientiae 
margarcta ;  et  habeat  fessus  ex  itinere  viator,  quo  se  recreat ;  licet  ex 
pondere  portantis  manus  non  gravctur."    Ep.  80. 

(4)  Probably  Jonh  of  Damascus.     Cf.   Harnack,  V,  p.  289. 


ALCUIN   AS   A    TEACHER  71 

Aristotle'  and  the  'mighty  rhetorician  Tiilhus.'^  The 
classics  mentioned  by  Alcnin  are  Vergil,  Statins  and  Lucan ; 
they  appear  at  the  end  of  a  very  considerable  list  of  Chris- 
tian poets.  It  is  characteristic  of  Alcuin  and  of  his  age 
that  he  sees  nothing  incongruous  in  associating  Vergil  with 
such  poets  as  Sedulius,  Juvencus,  Alcimus,  Clement,  Pros- 
per, Paulinus,  Arator,  Fortunatus  and  Lactantius.  A  place 
of  honor  is  given  to  the  indispensable  grammarians,  and 
accordingly  the  names  of  Probus,  Focas,  Donatus,  Priscian, 
Servius,  Eutycus,  Pompeius,  Comminianus,  close  the  list  of 
authors.  Neither  Isidore  of  Seville  nor  Martianus  Capella 
is  mentioned,  though  it  is  likely  that  the  works  of  both  of 
these  were  in  the  library  among  the  'many  other'  books 
which  Alcuin  said  were  to  be  found  there.^ 

In  matters  of  learning  and  education,  Alcuin  adopted 
the  same  safe  and  conservative  attitude  that  he  had  pur- 
sued in  questions  of  faith  and  of  religious  practice.  He 
and  his  contemporaries  made  learning  the  handmaid  of 
theology;  they  taught  those  things  only  which  would  be 
of  advantage  to  religion  and  to  mother  church.^  Their 
curriculum  began  and  ended  with  the  studies  of  the  Scrip- 
tures :  scriptural  interpretation  in  its  three-fold  sense,  his- 
torical, moral  and  allegorical,  was  the  keystone  of  their 
educational  structure.*  This,  Alcuin  considered  to  be  the 
knowledge  of  most  worth  f  though  he  by  no  means  de- 
spised secular  learning.®  • 

If  the  study  of  the  Scriptures  is  the  keystone,  the  Seven 

(i)  "Acer  Aristoteles,  rhetor  quoquo  Tullius  ingens."  Versus  De 
Sanct.  Eborac.  Eccl.  op.  cit.,  V.  1549. 

(2)  Versus  De  Sanct.  Eborac.  Eccl.  op.  cit.,  vv.  I53S-IS57- 

(3)  "Quaecunque  enim  a  magistris  ad  utilitatem  sanctarum  ecclesi- 
arum  Dei  didici."    Ep.  24. 

(4)  Vita  Alchidni.  op.  cit.,  cap.  2;  Admonitio  Generalis,  cap.  82, 
M.  G.  H.  Leg.  Sect.  II,  I,  p.  161 :  Rabanus  Maurus.  De  Clericor.  Instit. 
Ill,  2  Migne  107,  p.  379.  Willibaldi,  Vita  S.  Bonifatii,  cap.  2:  Jaffe/ 
op.  cit.  Ill,  p.  433-35- 

(5)  Epp.  309,  280.     (6)     Epp.  280,    121. 


/ 
/ 


72  THE   LETTERS   OF   ALCUIN 

Liberal  Arts  are  the  supports  of  his  whole  educational  sys- 
tem. They  are  the  'Seven  columns  which  support  the  dome 
of  wisdom,'  the  'seven  grades  of  wisdom'  leading  up  to  its 
summit,  which  is  evangelical  perfection.^  They  are  the 
'seven  water-pots,'  which  have  been  kept  till  now  to  furnish 
forth  the  wine  that  maketh  glad  the  heart  of  man.^  As  the 
sole  means  of  arriving  at  perfect  knowledge,  the  youths 
ought  to  study  them  until  'maturer  age  and  riper  judg- 
ment' have  fitted  them  for  the  study  of  the  Scriptures.' 
"On  these,"  says  Alcuin,  in  urging  his  pupils  to  study  the 
Liberal  Arts,  "on  these,  philosophers  have  bent  their 
energy ;  through  these,  consuls  and  kings  have  become  illus- 
trious; through  these,  the  venerable  Fathers  of  the  church 
have  defended  the  faith  and  discomfited  the  heretic."* 

However,  the  Seven  Liberal  Arts  of  themselves  appear 
to  have  had  little  attraction  for  the  scholars  of  Alcuin's  day ; 
theirs  was  a  relative  value,  measured  by  their  utility  to  the 
church."'  Latin  grammar  was  studied  as  the  key  to  the 
reading  and  understanding  of  the  Scriptures;  metre, 
rhetoric  and  dialectic  gave  the  future  cleric  skill  in  speech 
or  debate,  or  in  the  practical  treatment  of  religious  topics; 
music  was  of  value  in  connection  with  the  liturgy;  arith-  , 
metic  and  astronomy  were  largely  used  to  determine  the  '- 
date  of  Easter;  while  geometry  aided  the  church  architect.^    - 

Under  such  circumstances,  there  could  be  but  little  under- 
standing   or    appreciation    of    the    classical    spirit.     The 

(i)     Ef.  34-    Cf.  280,  and  Alcuin's  Grammatica,  Migne  CI,  p.  853. 

(2)  Ep.  309. 

(3)  Grammatica,  Migne  CI,  p.  854. 

(4)  Grammatica,  Migne  loi,  p.  854. 

(5)  De  Litteris  Colendis,  M.  G.  H.  Leg.  Sect.  II.  I,  p.  79:  Gram- 
matica, Migne  loi,  p.  853:  Rabanus  Maurus,  De  Clcricortim,  Instit 
book  III,  cap.  i6-Migne  CVII,  p.  392.  Norden,  Die  Antike  Kunstropsa 
vom  6ten  Jahrhundcrt  vor  Christo  bis  in  die  Zeit  der  Renaissance,  Vol. 
II,  p.  680. 

(6)  Bursian,  Geschichte  der  Classischen  Philologie  in  Deutschland, 
Vol.  I,  pp.  24-25. 


ALCUIN   AS   A    TEACHER  73 

mediaeval  churchmen  regarded  the  classics  merely  as  an 
indispensable  aid  for  the  study  of  the  Scriptures.^  The 
early  mediaeval  writers  had  used  the  classics  wherever  they 
felt  that  these  would  avail  Christianity,  or  serve  to  embel- 
lish their  own  style.^  But  they  had  felt  impelled  to  apolo- 
gize for  those  Vergilian  phrases  which  adorned  their  pages.. 
They  held  that  amid  the  noxious  superstitions  of  the  an- 
cients there  was  much  which  would  serve  the  interests  of 
truth  and  of  Christianity :  they  likened  themselves  to  the 
Israelites  who  carried  off  the  gold  and  silver  ornaments  of 
the  Egyptians.^  This  notion  of  'despoiling  the  Egyptians' 
still  obtained  of  course  in  Alcuin's  day,  and  far  beyond.  In 
a  letter  to  Arno,  Alcuin  admonished  him  to  wash  "the 
gold"  of  the  classics  "free  from  all  dross,"  so  that  it  might 
be  purified  and  rendered  acceptable  to  God  and  his  glorious 
Church.  Then  would  the  pagan  poems,  purged  from  all 
filth,  be  like  "a  rose  bred  among  thorns,  exquisite  jn  frag- 
rance, in  beauty  incomparable."*  Although  Augustine  and 
others  of  the  fathers  had  thus  assumed  an  apologetic  atti- 
tude towards  the  classics,  there  had  been  a  growing  ten- 
dency on  the  part  of  some  churchmen  to  regard  the  study 
of  the  classics  as  a  species  of  idolatry.  Yet,  try  as  they 
would,  the  Christian  fathers  could  not  get  along  without 
them  at  any  time  during  the  Middle  Ages :  the  classics 
were  as  necessary  to  the  study  of  the  Liberal  Arts  as  the 
latter  were  for  theology.  They  were  particularly  essential 
for  grammar  and  rhetoric,  as  Alcuin  admitted  upon  one 
occasion  when,  though  roundly  denouncing  Vergil  as  a  de- 

(i)     Cassiodorii,   "De  Instit.  Divin.  litter."  c.  28,  Migne  LXX,  pp. 
1 141-43.    De  Litteris  Colendis,  M.  G.  H.  Leg.  Sect.  II,  I,  p.  79. 

(2)  Comparetti,  Virgil  in  the  Middle  Ages,  p.  65. 

(3)  Augustine,  De  Doctrina  Christiana,  II,  cap.  40-Migne  XXXIV, 

(4)  "Nam    rosa,    inter    spinas    nata    miri    odoris    et    coloris    incon- 
parabilis    gratiam   habere    dinoscitur."    Ep.   207,    p.    345. 


74  THE   LETTERS   OF   ALCUIN 

ceiver,  he  conceded  that  in  matters  of  grammar  he  was  an 
authority  not  to  be  contemned/ 

As  might  be  expected,  the  attitude  of  Alcuin  towards 
the  classics  was  a  reflex  of  that  of  his  predecessors.  He 
exhibited  the  earlier  apologetic  but  enthusiastic  tone  of  the 
fathers,  together  with  their  later  attitude  of  hostility.  Like 
Augustine,  Jerome,  and  many  others,  he  found  the  classics 
necessary.  Like  them,  too,  he  doubts  somewhat  the  pro- 
priety of  using  them,  and  is  careful  at  times  to  explain 
his  grounds  for  so  doing.*  On  the  other  hand,  he  is  even 
more  outspoken  in  his  opposition  to  the  classics  than  Ter- 
tullian  himself.  •  As  a  boy  he  had  loved  the  poems  of  Vergil 
better  than  the  Psalms.'  With  riper  age  and  experience, 
however,  he  adopted  a  more  conservative  attitude  towards 
the  latter,  and  professed  to  despise  what  he  had  formerly 
admired.  As  he  neared  the  close  of  his  life,  he  became 
somewhat  narrower  in  his  views  and  less  charitable  in 
spirit.*  'That  same  man,'  says  his  biographer,  'who  in  his 
youth  had  read  the  lives  of  Vergil  along  with  the  Holy 
Writ,  and  the  books  of  the  philosophers,  in  his  old  age 
would  not  allow  his  monks  of  Tours  to  follow  the  example 
which  he  had  set  at  York.'*  "Are  not  the  divine  poets  suffi- 
cient for  you,"  says  Alcuin,  "or  must  you  pollute  your- 
selves with  the  smooth  flowing  phrases  of  Vergilian 
speech?"*  Certain  passages  in  Alcuin's  correspondence 
also,  appear  to  bear  eloquent  testimony  to  a  continued 
acerbity  against  the  classics.  Thus  he  reproached  his  friend, 
Ricbodus,  Archbishop  of  Treves,  because  of  his  fondness 

(i)  "Vergilius  haud  contempnendae  auctoritatis  falsator,"  Ep.  136. 
a.  Carmen  32,  Poet.  Lat.  Med.  Aev.  I,  p.  250. 

(2)  Vita  Alchuini,   cap.    i. 

(3)  "Legerat  isdem  vir  Domini  libros  iuvenis  antiquorum  philoso- 
phorum  Virgilique  mendacia,  quae  nolebat  iam  ip,se  nee  audire  neque 
discipulos  suos  legere,"  Vita  Alchuini,  cap.  10.  Cf.  "Haec  in  Vir- 
giiiacis  non  invenietur  mendaciis,  sed  in  euangolica  afflucntcr  rep- 
perietur  veritate."  Ep.  309,  p.  475.  Cf.  Ep.  136.  (4)  Vita  Alchuini,  op 
cit.,  cap.  10. 


ALCUIN   AS   A    TEACHER  75 

for  Vergil.  "Lo,  a  whole  year  has  passed,"  he  writes, 
"and  I  have  had  no  letter  from  you.  Ah,  if  only  my  name 
were  Vergil,  then  wouldst  thou  never  forget  me,  but  have 
my  face  ever  before  thee;  then  should  I  be  'felix  nimium, 
quo  non  felicior  ullus.'  And,"  he  concludes,  "would  that 
the  four  Gospels  rather  than  the  twelve  yEneids  filled  your 
heart."^ 

However,  at  the  very  time  that  he  was  inveighing  most 
fiercely  against  the  classics  in  general  and  Vergil  in  par- 
ticular, he  was  using  the  latter  to  illustrate  a  fact  or  point 
a  moral.  When  King  Charles  sought  to  inveigle  him  into 
coming  to  the  court,  in  order  to  debate  with  some  scJiolars 
there  upon  certain  astronomical  questions,  he  declined.  His 
refusal  is  couched  in  Vergilian  phrase.  "As  the  ass  is 
W'hipped  for  his  sluggishness,"  so  perhaps  I,  too,  have  felt 
not  undeservedly  the  lash  of  the  palace  youths.  The  aged 
Entellus^  has  long  laid  aside  the  cestus  and  left  it  for 
others  in  the  flower  of  youth.  Some  of  these  would  strike 
the  old  man  a  mighty  blow,  so  that  a  mist  would  come  be- 
fore his  eyes  and  his  blood  scarce  warm  again  around  his 
heart.*  Of  what  avail  would  the  feeble  old  Flaccus  be  amid 
the  clash  of  arms?  What  can  the  timid  hare  do  against 
the  wild  boars,  or  the  lamb  avail  against  the  lions?" 
"Verily,"  concludes  Alcuin,  in  declining  the  king's  invita- 
tion, "as  Vergil  wrote  to  Augustus,  so  do  I  to  you.  'Tu 
sectaris  apros,  ego  retia  servo.'  "°  Alcuin's  letters  abound 
in  such  references  to  Vergil.®  In  fact  they  outnumber  three 
to  one  the  references  to  all  other  authors.  To  be  precise, 
there  are  twentv-cight  references  to  the  classics  in  the  cor- 


(i)  Ep.  13,  p.  39. 

(2)  Ep.  145.     Cf.  Verg.  Georg.  I,  273. 

(3)  Verg.  ^n.  V,  437  et  seq.         (4)      Verg.  Georg.  II,  484. 

(5)  Ed.  Ill,  75,  (in  Ep.  145). 

(6)  Cf.  Epp.  178,  215,  14s,  175,  164,  162,  13. 


76  THE   LETTERS   OF   ALCUIN 

respondence  of  Alcuin.  Seven  of  these  are  to  Horace,  Ovid, 
Terence  and  Pliny  ;^  whereas  twenty-one  are  to  Vergil.^ 

Thus,  Alcuin,  like  his  predecessors,  is  inconsistent ;  he 
abuses  the  classics  roundly,  but  uses  them  upon  occasion, 
and  with  some  effect.  The  style  of  Alcuin,  like  that  of  most 
of  the  literary  coterie  which  gathered  at  Charles'  court,  is 
grammatically  correct,  and  sometimes  elegant.  To  be  sure, 
it  lacks  spontaneity  and  tends  to  mere  prettiness  of  expres- 
sion, which  at  times  degenerates  to  bombast.  Thus,  one  of 
his  letters  to  Theodulph  outdoes  Lyly's  Euphiics  in  the 
wealth  of  its  rhetorical  figures  and  fantastic  conceits.  He 
addresses  Theodulph  as  the  'father  of  the  vineyards,'  as  the 
custodian  of  the  'wine-cellars,'  wherein  has  been  kept  until 
now  the  'good  old  wine'  to  be  broached  in  these  latter  days. 
"Now  by  the  mercies  of  God,"  says  he,  "a  second  David 
is  the  ruler  of  a  better  people,  and  under  him  a  nobler  Zabdi 
is  set  over  the  cellars ;  for  the  King  hath  set  his  love  upon 
him,  and  brought  him  into  the  wine-cellars,^  that  the 
scholars  may  there  wreathe  him  with  flowers  and  comfort 
him  with  the  flagons*  of  that  wine  which  maketh  glad  the 
heart  of  man.''^  It  was  passages  such  as  these  which  led 
Theodulph  and  other  contemporaries  to  give  Alcuin  the 
palm  over  all  the  other  writers  of  the  day.® 

Occasionally  we  catch  glimpses  of  an  imagination  try- 
ing to  soar  above  the  limitations  imposed  on  it  by  ecclesias- 

(i)  There  are  two  references  to  Horace,  three  to  Ovid,  one  each  to 
Terence  and  Pliny. 

(2)  Three  references  are  to  the  Georgics,  seven  to  the  2E,nt\A, 
eleven  to  the  Eclogues.  In  regard  to  Alcuin's  attitude  towards  the 
classics,  cf.  O.  F.  Long,  "Lectures  in  Honor  of  Basil  L.  Gilderslccvc," 
PP-  377-86;  Comparetti,  "Virgil  in  the  Middle  Ages,"  translated 
by  E.  F.  M.  Benecke.     (3)     £/>.  192.     (4)     Solomon's  Song,  II,  5. 

(5)  Psalm  civ,  15.  The  above  translation  is  taken  from  West's 
"Alcuin,"  p.  79. 

(6)  "Sit  praesto  et  Flaccus,  nostrorum  gloria  vatum, 

Qui  potis  est  lyrico  multa  boare  pede. 
•    Quique  sophista  potens  est,  quique  poeta  melodus 

Quique  potens  sensu,   quique  polens  opere  est."     Carmen,  25, 
M.  G.  H.  Poet.  Lat.  Med.  Aev.  I,  p.  486.  ^ 


ALCUIN   AS   A    TEACHER  77 

tical  traditions.  Here  and  there  we  light  iqxDn  passages  of 
poetic  charm.  In  carmen  23,  for  example,  he  paints  a 
picture  which  glows  for  us  with  something  of  the  beauty 
and  warmth  of  nature.  It  may  be  freely  translated  thus : 
"Beloved  cell,  sweet  habitation  mine,  girt  around  with 
whispering  trees,  and  all  hidden  by  the  foliage  green,  be- 
fore thee  stretch  the  meadows,  blooming  with  fragrant 
flowers  and  life-giving  herbs;  babbling  at  thy  door,  the 
streamlet  meanders  by,  on  whose  banks,  all  embowered  in 
flow-ers,  the  fisher  loves  to  sit  and  tend  his  net.  The  lily 
pale,  the  blushing  rose,  mingle  their  odors  with  the  sweet- 
smelling  fruit  hanging  in  rich  profusion  from  thy  orchard 
trees,  while,  all  around,  the  feathery  denizens  of  the  wood 
swell  out  their  matin  song  in  praise  of  their  Creator."^ 
Again,  there  is  something  of  the  spirit  of  eternal  youth 
in  the  sprightly  lines  where  he  describes  himself  as  "rub- 
bing the  sleep  of  night  from  his  eyes,  and  leaping  from  his 
couch  as  soon  as  the  ruddy  charioteer  of  dawn  suffuses  the 
liquid  deep  with  the  new  light  of  day,  and  then  running 
straightway  into  the  fields  of  the  ancients  to  pluck  their 
flowers  of  correct  speech  and  scatter  them  in  sport  before 
his  boys."^  Then,  too,  there  are  passages,  such  as  his  car- 
men 25  on  Rome,  and  his  farewell  epistle  to  Charles,  where 
something  of  the  dignity  of  his  theme  imparts  itself  to 
his  lines  ;^  and  his  profound  grief  at  the  death  of  his  old 

(i)     "O  niea  cella,   mihi  habitatio  dulcis,  amata.     .     .    . 


Undique  te  cingit  ramis  resonantibus  arbos, 
Silvula  florigeris  semper  onusta  comis 
Prata  salutiferis  florebunt  omnia  et  herbis, 


Flumina  te  cingimt  florentibus  undiqne  ripis, 
Retia  piscator  qua  sua  tendit  ovans."     Carmen,  23,  M.  G.  H. 
Poet.  Lat.  Med.  Aev.  I,  p.  243. 

(2)  "Splendida  dum  rutilat  roseis  Aurora  quadrigis, 
Perfundens  pelagus  luce  nova  liquidum,"  et  seq.     Carmen,  42, 

M.  G.  H.  Poet.  Lat.  Med.  Aev.  I,  p.  253,  translation  by  West,  p.  47. 

(3)  Carmen,  25,  M.  G.  H.  Poet.  Lat.  Med.  Aev.  I,  p.  245. 


78  THE   LETTERS   OF   ALCUiN 

master,  Elbert,  which  he  so  touchingly  expresses  in  his 
verses  on  York,  strikes  a  chord  which  finds  an  answering 
echo  in  our  own  hearts.  And  certainly  much  may  be  for- 
given one  who  could  write  those  beautiful  lines  of  the  car- 
men In  Dormiturio:  "'IMay  he  who  stillest  the  roaring 
winds  and  raging  seas,  the  God  of  Israel,  who  hath  never 
slept  throughout  the  ages,  may  He  who  apportions  the  day 
for  work,  the  night  for  rest,  grant  to  the  weary  brethren 
sweet  refreshing  sleep,  and  dispel  with  omnipotent  hand 
the  fears  which  disturb  their  slumbers."^  There  is  some- 
thing here  of  the  serenity,  the  restfulness  and  the  charm 
of  Goethe's  immortal  poem  "Ein  Gleiches."" 
»/  Alcuin  is,  however,  no  stylist  and  no  great  scholar.     His 

forte  lay  in  teaching.  ,  He  found  his  opportunity  at  the 
cathedral  school  at  York,  the  palace  school  at  Aachen,  and 
the  monastic  school  at  Tours,  in  each  of  which  he  taught 
the  Seven  Liberal  Arts.  Naturally,  he  paid  most  atten- 
tion to  grammar,  the  first  and  most  important,  the  sine  qua 
non  of  the  other  six  arts.^  He  himself  wrote  a  Grammatical 
based  in  the  main  on  the  earlier  grammars  of  Donatus  and 
Priscian.  The  treatise  is  in  the  form  of  a  diajogue;  first, 
there  is  an  explanation  by  tlie  teacher,  which  is  followed 
by  questions  and  answers  exchanged  between  the  pupils  or 
between  the  master  and  pupils.  The  book  itself  is  divided 
into  two  parts;  in  the  first  part  is  discussed  the  end  and 
method  of  education.  According  to  Alcuin,  the  only  thing 
worth  while  is  wisdom  or  'philosophia,'  "the  chief  adorn- 
ment of  the  soul."  "And,"  says  he,  "it  will  not  be  hard 
to  point  out  to  you  the  path  of  wisdom,  if  only  you  will 

(i)     Carmen,  96,  M.  G.  H.  Poet.  Lat.  Med.  Aev.  I,  p.  321. 

(2)  "Ueber  alien  Gifpelen,  ist  Ruh,"  ct  scq.,  in  Select  Poems  of 
Goethe,  Ed.  of  Sonnenschein,  p.  6. 

(3)  "Hacc  et  origo  et  fundamentum  est  artium  liberalium,"  Rabani, 
De  Clericor.  Instit.  III.  18,  opp.  ed.,  Migne  CVII,  pp.  395,  396.  Cf. 
Theodulph,  Carmen,  46,  vv.  1-8,  M.  G.  H.  Poet.  Lat.  Med.  Aev.  I, 
P-  544- 


ALCUIN   AS   A    TEACHER  79 

seek  after  it  with  the  right  motive ;  if,  disregarding  worldly- 
praise,  honor  and  the  deceitful  pleasures  of  wealth,  you  pur- 
sue it  for  the  sake  of  truth  and  righteousness.  Wisdom 
is,  however,  not  to  be  lightly  won ;  there  is  no  royal  road ; 
her  heights  will  not  be  attained  until  the  intervening  plains 
and  slopes  have  been  crossed  and  ascended."^ 

The  second  portion  of  the  treatise  is  devoted  to  grammar. 
The  latter,  according  to  Alcuin,  is  divided  into  twenty-six 
parts, ^  with  each  of  which  he  proceeds  to  deal  in  turn.  As 
an  introduction  to  this  there  is  a  discussion  of  words,  letters 
and  syllables,  in  the  form  of  a  dialogue.  The  latter  is 
carried  on  between  a  Saxon  and  a  Frank,  in  the  preface 
to  which  dialogue  Alcuin  states  that  these,  having  but  re- 
cently begun  the  study  of  grammatical  subtleties,  have  de- 
cided to  question  each  other  in  order  to  aid  their  memory 
in  mastering  the  rules  of  grammar.  "Do  you,"  says  the 
Frank  very  significantly,  taking  the  initative,  "answer  the 
questions  I  now  propound  to  you ;  for  you  are  older  than  I, 
being  fifteen  while  I  am  but  fourteen."  The  Saxon  agrees 
to  the  proposal,  provided  that  all  questions  of  difficulty  be 
referred  to  the  master.  The  latter  professes  himself  as  well 
pleased  with  their  proposition,  and  directs  what  he  calls 
their  'disputation'^  by  starting  them  off  in  a  discussion  of 
'littera.'*    It  runs  as  follows  : 

Frank — Why,   Saxon,  is  it  called  'littera'  ? 

Saxon — Because  the  letter  prepares  the  path  for  the 
reader.^ 

Frank — Give  me  then  a  definition  for  'littera.' 

Saxon — It  is  the  smallest  part  of  articulate  voice. 

Both — Master,  is  there  another  definition? 

(i)     Grammatica,  Migne  CI.  p.  850. 

(2)  For  an  enumeration  of  these  see  Grammatica,  Migne  CI,  p.  858. 

(3)  Ibid.,   p.  854.      (4)     Ibid. 

(5)  "Littera  est  quasi  legitera,  quia  legentibus  iter  praebet,"  ibid., 
p.  855. 


80  THE   LETTERS  OF  ALCUIN 

Master — There  is,  but  of  similar  import.  The  letter  is 
indivisible,  because  we  divide  the  sentences  into  parts,  and 
the  parts  into  syllables  and  the  latter  into  letters,  which  are 
thus  indivisible. 

Both — Why  do  you  call  letters,  elements? 

Master — Because  as  the  members  fitly  joined  together 
make  the  body,  so  the  letters  make  speech. 

Frank — State,  my  fellow  pupil,  the  kinds  of  letters. 

Saxon — They  are  vowels  and  consonants,  which  may  be 
further  sub-divided  into  semi-vowels  and  mutes.    .     .     . 

After  they  have  discussed  the  vowel  and  the  consonant,, 
they  proceed  to  treat  of  the  syllable  in  a  similar  way. 

Alcuin  next  proceeds  to  treat  of  the  parts  of  speech. 
His  definitions  of  these  are  as  faulty  as  those  of  the  older 
grammarians  upon  which  they  are  based.  Thus,  from  his 
definition^  of  the  noun,  it  appears  that  he  confuses  it  with 
the  adjective,  as  the  earlier  grammarians  had  done,  and 
while  it  is  true  that  he  feels  this  confusion,  and  attempts 
to  give  another  definition,  he  fails  to  make  his  meaning 
clear.  Evidently,  his  untrained  mind  could  not  distinguish 
between  the  object  itself  and  its  manifestations  or  quali- 
ties :  to  him  'sanctus'  and  'sanctitas'  are  both  nouns. ^ 
Moreover,  he  is  not  always  able  to  understand  and  appre- 
ciate the  differences  between  his  two  chief  guides,  Donatus 
and  Priscian.  For  example,  he  is  greatly  puzzled  whether 
he  should  follow  Donatus  and  treat  of  six  divisions  under 
the  noun,  or  whether,  like  Priscian,  he  should  limit  him- 
self to  five.  The  chief  things  which  he  explains  under  the 
noun  are  its  kind,  gender,  number,  case  and  figures. 

The  other  parts  of  speech  are  discussed  in  a  similar  way. 
The  verb  is  treated  most  extensively;  and    in    the    course 

(i)  "Nomen  est  pars  orationis  .  .  .  quae  unicuique  corpori  vcl 
rei  communcm  vel  propriam  qualitatem  distril)iiit,"  ibid.,  p.  859. 

(2)  Thus  he  classes  "sanctus"  and  "sanctitas"  among  the  "denomi- 
native" nouns.    Ibid.,  p.  860. 


ALCUIN   AS   A    TEACHER  81 

of  the  dialogue  the  Saxon  gives  an  appalHng  list  of  irregu- 
larities in  mode  and  tense/  So  formidable  is  it  that  the 
Saxon  himself  is  dismayed  and  discouraged.  "Lo,  Frank," 
says  he,  "what  a  burden  you  have  laid  upon  me!  What  a 
thorny  path  you  have  led  me  into!  Let  us  have  a  mo- 
ment's breathing  space,  I  pray  you."  "So  be  it,"  replies 
the  Frank:  "As  Vergil  saith,  'I  shall  crush  you  with  this 
weight.'  Yet  fear  not  'Labor  vincit  omnia.'  "^  "  'Tis  so," 
agrees  the  Saxon  wearily,  "let  us  continue."  And  they  do, 
treating  of  the  adverb,  participle,  conjunction  and  inter- 
jection, which  discussion  ends  the  treatise. 

Thus  Alcuin's  conception  of  grammar  is  a  somewhat  dif- 
ferent one  from  that  of  the  grammarians  of  the  late 
Roman  empire.  The  latter  had  regarded  it  as  something 
more  than  the  art  of  speaking  and  writing  correctly,  and 
had  studied  literature  along  with  it.  Alcuin's  grammar,  on 
the  other  hand,  pays  no  attention  to  literary  form;  it  is 
a  technical  study  and  by  no  means  a  complete  one,  for  it 
deals  almost  entirely  with  etymolpg;^.^  Whatever  of  value 
attaches  to  it  may  be  found  in  the  older  grammars  of  Dona- 
tus  and  Priscian.  Yet,  imperfect  and  childish  as  it  is,  the 
Grammatica  must  not  be  too  hastily  judged ;  it  may  be  ques- 
tioned whether  any  other  kind  of  grammar  would  have  been 
as  intelligible  to  the  untutored  Frank.  Its  method  was 
simple  and  attractive ;  the  content,  apart  from  a  certain  dis- 
play of  erudition,  calculated  to  inspire  respect,  is  not  too 
difficult  for  the  ignorant  Frank;  on  the  whole  it  is  well 
adapted  to  his  need. 

Next  to  the  Grammatica,  Alcuin's  most  useful  educa- 
tional work  is  his  Orthography.    This  was  probably  written 

(i)     Ibid.,  pp.  878-886.     (2)     Ibid.,  p.  885. 

(3)  This,  of  course,  does  not  mean  that  Alcuin  paid  no  attention 
to  syntax  or  prosody.  It  is  evident  he  practiced  his  pupils  in  the 
writing  of  "dictamina."  Ep.  172.  Cf.  Monach.  Sangall.,  De  Carolo.  M. 
I,  3 :  Jaffe,  IV,  p.  633. 


82  THE   LETTERS   OF  ALCUIN 

at  Tours,  and  was  designed  to  help  him  effect  an  immediate 
reform  in  matters  of  spelling  and  copying  of  the  manu- 
scripts. Tours  had  once  been  famous  for  its  learning  and 
its  copyists;  but  the  writing  had  degenerated,  the  manu- 
scripts were  full  of  the  grossest  errors,  and  the  copyists 
sorely  in  need  of  instruction/  They  were,  also,  too  much 
given  to  trifling  and  worked  too  hurriedly.  One  of  his  in- 
scriptions in  the  library,  or  Scriptorium,-  warned  them 
against  these  faults.  Elsewhere  he  admonished  his  pupils 
not  only  to  seek  out  the  best  possible  manuscripts,  but 
also  to  transcribe  them  accurately,  taking  care  not  to  neg- 
lect the  punctuation.  The  reader  in  the  Scriptorium  was 
also  given  wholesome  advice  "not  to  read  falsely  or  too 
rapidly,  lest  he  cause  the  copyist  to  make  mistakes."  Fur- 
thermore, in  an  interesting  letter  to  Charles,  Alcuin  com- 
plained that  punctuation,  though  lending  much  to  the  clear- 
ness and  beauty  of  sentences,  has  been  neglected  owing  to 
the  ignorance  of  the  scribes.^  In  fact,  the  pronunciation  and 
spelling  of  words  had,  become  so  unsettled  and  so  confus- 
ing as  to  render  some  such  work  as  the  Orthography  im- 
perative, if  Alcuin  and  his  contemporaries  were  to  leave 
to  their  successors  reasonably  accurate  copies  of  the  manu- 
scripts. 

In  his  introduction  to  the  Orthography,  Alcuin  says, 
"Let  him  who  would  reproduce  the  sayings  of  the  ancients 
read  me;  for  he  who  follows  me  not  will  speak  without 
regard  to  law."*  Then  he  proceeds  to  call  attention  to  some 
of  the  mistakes  in  form  and  spelling  made  by  the  barbarian 
Franks.  "Such  words,"  says  he,  "as  aefcrnus,  actas,  should 
be  spelled  with  a  dipthong  Uv.'  "    Another  common  mistake, 

(i)  Sulpicius  Severus,  Vita  S.  Martini,  Migne  XX,  p.  i66.  Cf. 
Admonitio  Gcncralis,  cap.  72,  M.  G.  H.  Leg..  Sect.  II,  60. 

(2)  Carmen,  94,  M.  G.  H.  Poet.  Lat.  Med.  Aev.  I,  p.  320. 

(3)  Ep.  172,  p.  285. 

(4)  "Me  legat  antiquas  vult  qui  proferre  loquelas,  Me  qui  non 
sequitur,  vult  sine  lege  loqui,"  Migne  CI,  p.  902. 


ALCUIN   AS   A    TEACHER  83 

according  to  Alcuin,  was  the  confusion  of  'b\  not  alone  with 
'v/  but  even  with  'f  and  'u/  "Thus,"  says  Alcuin,  "if  you 
mean  zn'ool,  write  vclliis;  if  beautiful,  write  hellus."^  The 
misuse  of  the  aspirate  is  another  subject  of  which  Alcuin 
treats.  "Habco  should  be  written  with  an  'h',  and  aspir- 
ated, whereas  the  reverse  is  true  of  abeo.  Nor  must  it  be 
forgotten,"  he  adds,  "that  7/'  aspirate  may  be  used  before 
all  vowels,  but  after  four  consonants  only,  namely,  c,  t,  p, 
r/'-  The  doubling  of  such  consonants  as  /,  in,  n,^  as  well 
as  the  interchange  of  the  last  two,  in  prefixes,  comes  in  for 
some  consideration.  Alcuin,  moreover,  is  aware  of  w^hat 
the  modern  grammarians  call  the  principle  of  ease;  for  ex- 
ample, he  points  out  that  the  frequent  change  of  b  into  f  or 
g  in  prefixes,  as  in  the  case  of  suifcro  and  suggcro,  is  due 
to  a  desire  to  secure  ease  of  pronunciation.*  By  far  the 
most  diverting  features  of  the  Orthography  are  those  por- 
tions where  he  intersperses  his  treatment  of  rules,  irregu- 
larities and  mistakes  by  some  very  peculiar  examples  of  'der- 
ivations,' as^  for  instance,  "  'Coclcbs/  qui  sibi  iter  facit  ad 
coehun."^  From  the  standpoint  of  philology,  the  Orthog- 
raphy is  quite  important  as  illustrating  a  transitional 
stage  of  the  Latin  language.  The  latter,  which  had 
already  conquered  the  Celtic  language,  is  here  seen  to  be 
confronted  with  the  Germanic,  and  their  reaction  upon  each 
other  resulted  in  great  confusion. 

Alcuin's  remaining  works  on  the  Trivium,  the  De  Rhe- 

(i)  Migne  CI,  pp.  902-903.  Cf.  Isidore,  Etyuiologiarum,  Book  I, 
cap.  27.     Migne,   Vol.  LXXXII,  p.   loi. 

(2)  "H  aspiratio  ante  vocales  omnes  poni  potest;  post  consonantes 
autem  quatuor  tantumodo,  c,  t,  p,  r,"  Migne  CI,  p.  910.  Cf.  Isidore, 
op.  cit.,  Migne  LXXXII,  p.  102. 

(3)  "Malo,  id  est  magis  volo ;  et  nolo,  id  est  ne  volo  per  nnum 
1.  Malle,  velle  et  nolle  per  due  1."  Ibid.,  CI,  p.  911.  Cf.  Isidore, 
op.  cit.,  LXXXII,  pp.  102-3. 

(4)  "Saepe  b  in  praepositione  sub  euphoniae  causa  im  sequentem 
mutabitur  consonantem  ut  siiffcro,  suggero,"  Migne  CI,  p.  916.  Cf, 
Isidore,  op.  cit.,  cap.  27,  pp.  101-102. 

(5)  Migne,  CI,  p.  906. 


84  THE   LETTERS   OF   ALCUIN 

torica  et  Virtutibns  and  the  Dialcctica  are  less  important. 
They  bear  testimony  to  Alcuin's  weakness  in  the  field  of 
rhetoric  and  dialectic.  They  are  based  on  the  works  of  his 
predecessors,  and  not  the  least  remarkable  thing  about 
them  is  the  uncontrovertible  evidence  they  afford  that 
Alcuin  allowed  himself  to  copy  whole  sentences  and  even 
paragraphs  ad  libitum  from  the  works  of  Isidore  of  Seville 
and  the  Fathers.  It  is  plain  that  he  fears  to  disagree  with 
these;  he  considers  himself  happy,  if,  peradventure,  he 
understand  the  thoughts  of  the  ancients  through  their  in- 
terpretation. Thus  in  his  introduction  to  the  Dialcctica,  he 
says :  ''He  who  reads  this  book  will  praise  the  wonderful 
genius  of  the  ancients,  and  will  strive  so  far  as  in  him 
lieth  to  attain  unto  like  wisdom."^  The  first  of  these  works, 
the  De  Rhetorica  ct  Virtutibns,  is  based  on  the  writings 
of  Cicero  and  of  Isidore,  whose  ideas  Alcuin  reproduces 
with  great  loss  to  their  originals  as  far  as  form  and  force 
are  concerned.  For  the  rules,  principles,  and  main  divisions 
of  his  rhetoric,  he  draws  largely  upon  Cicero's  De  hivai- 
tione,  which  he  quotes  at  times  word  for  word.^  His  second 
source  is  Isidore,  whom  he  cites  quite  as  freely.  Hence, 
we  find  in  the  Rhetorica  the  five  divisions,  the  three  kinds 
of  rhetorical  speech,  the  six  parts  of  an  oration,  which  meet 
us  in  Cicero's  De  Invcntionc  and  Isidore's  Etymologies} 
There  is,  however,  one  part  of  the  treatise  where  he  is  more 

(i)  Dc  Dialcctica,  Migne  CI,  p.  951.  Cf.  Carmen,  77,  M.  G.  H. 
Poet.  Lat.  Med.  Aev.  I,  p.  298. 

(2)  Thus  Alcuin  borrows  Cicero's  well-known  passage,  "Nam  Fuit 
quoddam  tempus,  cum  in  agris  homines  passim  bestiarum  modo  vaga- 
bantur."    Cf.  Opera  Rhetorica,  Ed.  G.  Friederich,  Vol.  I,  pt.  I,  p.  118. 

(3)  "Artis  Rhetoricae  partes  quinque  sunt;  inventio,  dispositio,  elo- 
cutio,  memoria,  et  pronuntiatio,"  Migne  CI,  p.  921.  Cf.  Isidore,  Ety- 
mologiaruvt."  Book  2,  cap.  3,  Vol.  LXXXII,  p.  125.  "Ars  quidem 
rhetoricae  in  tribus  vcrsatur  generibus  id  est  dcmonstrativo,  delibera- 
tivo,  judiciali,"  Rhetorica  Migne  CI,  p.  922.  Cf.  Isidore,  op.  cit.,  cap. 
4,  p.  125.  "Sex  sunt  partes,  per  quas  ab  oratorc  ordinanda  est  oratio. 
Causae  exordium,  narratio,  confirmatio,  partitio,  reprehcnsio,  conclusio," 
Migne  CI,  p.  929.     Isidore  has  but  four  of  these. 


ALCUIN   AS   A    TEACHER  85 

original.  This  is  the  portion  that  deals  with  the  appHca- 
tion  of  rhetoric  to  suits  at  law.  In  the  dialogue  tjetween 
Charles  and  Alcuin  which  serves  as  an  introduction  to  this 
work,  he  defines  rhetoric  as  the  art  of  "good  speaking,"  but 
he  goes  on  to  explain  that  it  also  treats  of  civil  questions.^ 
''Just  as,"  says  he,  "it  is  natural  for  us  to  attack  an  enemy 
and  to  defend  ourselves,  so  we  are  prone  to  justify  our- 
selves and  blame  others,  but  he  who  has  perfected  him- 
self in  the  art  of  rhetoric  will  protect  himself  more  skil- 
fully; he  will  excel  all  others  in  debate,  even  as  the  skilled 
soldier  will  overcome  him  who  has  no  training  in  the  use 
of  arms."  It  was  this  practical  side  of  rhetoric  which  ap- 
pealed to  Charles.  "Teach  me  the  rules  of  rhetoric,  I  pray 
thee,"  the  latter  says,  "for  every  day  I  have  need  of  them."^ 
Accordingly,  Alcuin  proceeds  to  define  rhetoric,  to  state  its 
divisions  and  to  show  how  it  may  be  applied  in  conduct- 
ing and  determining  civil  suits.  Herein  lies  its  chief  signifi-l 
cance :  it  is  one  of  those  works  that  serves  to  mark  the 
transition  from  the  earlier  technical  treatment  of  the  sub- 
ject in  ancient  times  to  the  later  and  more  practical  treat- 
ment in  the  Middle  Ages  as  seen  in  the  text-books  of  the 
Dictamen.  Such  a  work  as  Alcuin's  Rlietorica  goes  far 
to  bear  out  Rashdall's  contention  that  it  was  customary  in 
the  Middle  Ages  to  study  rhetoric  as  an  aid  in  the  com- 
position of  legal  documents.^ 

But  the  'Inost  characteristic  thing  about  Alcuin's 
Rhetorica  is  the  persistence  with  which  the  moral  aspects 
of  the  subject  are  emphasized.  This  is  apparent  even  in 
the  earlier  and  more  technical  part  of  the  treatise.  Thus, 
there  is  a  tendency  to  explain  rhetorical  principles  by  illus- 

(i)  "In  civilibus  quaestionibus,  quae  natural!  animi  ingenio  concipi 
possint,"  ibid.,  p.  921.  Cf.  Isidore,  op.  cit.,  p.  140,  where  the  same  phrase 
occurs  word  for  word.  Cf.  Carmen,  82,  M.  G.  H.  Poet.  Lat.  Med.  Aev. 
I,  p.  300. 

(2)  Migne  CI,  p.  921. 

(3)  H.  Rashdall,  Universities  in  the  Middle  Ages,  Vol.  I,  p.  94. 


86  THE   LETTERS   OF  ALCUIN 

trations  from  the  scriptures/  Again,  when  Charles  asks 
Alcuin  how  he  may  strengthen  the  memory,  the  latter  en- 
joins him  to  avoid  intemperance,  the  chief  foe  of  all  liberal 
studies,  the  destroyer  of  bodily  health,  and  of  mental  sound- 
ness.' Here  Alcuin  implies  that  rhetoric  will  avail  the 
orator  but  little  unless  he  be  virtuous :  if  he  have  not  a 
proper  knowledge  of  the  human  heart,  its  joys,  its  sor- 
rows and  its  virtues,  his  words  will  have  no  power.  It  is 
this  conviction,  probably,  which  led  Alcuin  to  close  his 
treatise  with  a  short  description  of  the  four  cardinal  vir- 
tues, prudence,  justice,  fortitude  and  temperance.  In  the 
introduction  to  this  part  of  the  treatise,  he  says :  "There 
are  certain  things  so  splendid  and  so  noble  that  the  mere 
possession  of  them  is  a  sufficient  reward  in  itself;  one 
honors  and  loves  them  for  a  dignity  which  is  all  their  own." 
Charles,  much  impressed,  asks  what  these  may  be.  "They 
are  virtue,  knowledge,  truth,  pure  love,"  rejoins  Alcuin, 
"and  they  are  honored  by  Christians  and  philosophers 
alike."  ^  A  discussion  of  the  above  mentioned  cardinal  vir- 
tues and  their  various  subdivisions  ends  the  treatise. 

Closely  associated  with  rhetoric  in  Alcuin's  day  was  the 
study  of  dialectic.  In  his  Dialcctica,  he  explains  their  rela- 
tion to  each  other.  "They  differ,"  says  he,  "as  the  clenched 
fist  from  the  open  hand ;  the  one  masses  its  arguments  with 
directness  and  precision,  while  tiie  other  develops  them 
through  discoursive  eloquence.'*  As  is  well  known,  the 
Dialcctica  is  based  on  the  pseudo-Augustinian  w^ork  on  the 
categories  and  on  Isidore's  Etymologies.'^    Alcuin  does  not 

(i)  Notably  his  citation  of  Paul's  defense  before  Felix,  as  an 
instance  of  the  use  of  the  dcUbcrativiim,  Migne  CI,  p.  922.  (2)  Ibid., 
p.  941.     (3)     Ibid.,  pp.  943-4. 

(4)  "Dialectica  et  rhetorica  est,  quod  in  nianu  hominis  pugnus 
astrictus  et  palma  distenta,"  et  scq.  ibid.,  p.  953.  Cf.  Isidore,  op.  cit., 
Book  2,  cap.  2^,  where  the  same  idea  is  found  in  almost  identical 
words. 

(5)  Catcgoriae  decum — Migne,  Vol.  XXXII,  pp.  1419-1440,  cf. 
Prantl,  C,  Gcschichte  dcr  Logik  im  Abcndlandc,  II,  p.  14.  Etyniolo- 
giarum,  op.  cit.,  infra,  Book  2. 


ALCUIN   AS   A    TEACHER  B7 

dream  of  excelling  these  authorities,  but  very  complacently 
sets  to  work  to  reproduce  them.  The  result  is  one  of  the 
most  consistent  pieces  of  plagiarism  that  has  ever  been 
produced.  There  is  scarcely  an  original  idea  throughout 
the  whole  Dialcctica;  its  plan,  subject  divisions,  chapter 
headings,  and  nomenclature,  are  the  same  as  in  the  above 
mentioned  works;  whole  sentences,  nay,  whole  paragraphs 
are  copied,  in  some  places  word  for  word.  Thus  in  his 
introductory  chapter,  he  divides  philosophy  into  physics, 
ethics  and  logic,  and  these  are  further  subdivided;  physics 
into  arithmetic,  geometry,  music  and  astronomy;  ethics 
into  the  four  cardinal  virtues,  prudence,  justice,  fortitude 
and  temperance ;  logic,  into  rhetoric  and  dialectic.  Under 
the  latter  he  treats  of  isagogues,  categories,  syllogisms, 
definitions,  topics,  and  the  perihermenies.  These  divisions, 
together  with  their  explanations  and  definitions,  are  almost 
identical  with  those  we  find  in  Isidore's  work.^  The  same 
is  true  of  the  second  chapter,  which  deals  with  the  isa- 
gogues. The  second  division  of  the  treatise,  comprising 
chapters  three  to  ten  inclusive,  is  based  on  a  similar  work 
long  ascribed  to  Augustine."  Here  Alcuin  follows  his 
source  even  more  closely  than  in  the  first  two  chapters : 
not  only  are  the  ten  Aristotelian  categories    the    same    as 

(i)  The  following  passages  show  the  extent  to  which  Alcuin  has 
copied  from  Isidore.  Alcuin's  introduction  reads:  "Philosophia  est 
naturarum  inquisitio,  rerum  humanarum  ;  divinarumque  cognitio ;  quan- 
tum homini  possibile  est  aestimare,"  Aligne  CI,  cap.  i,  p.  952.  Cf. 
Isidore  :  "Philosophia  est  rerum  humanarum  divinarumque  cognitio  cum 
studio  bene  vivendi  conjuncta.  Item  aliqui  doctorum ;  Philosophia  est 
divinarum  humanarumque  rerum  in  quantum  homini  possibile  est," 
Isidore,  op.  cit.,  Book  2.  cap  24,  Vol.  LXXXII,  pp.  140-141.  "In  quot 
partes  dividitur  philosophia  ?  In  tres ;  physiciam,  ethicam,  logicam. 
Haec  quoque  latino  ore  exprome.  Physica  est  naturalis,  ethica  moralis, 
logica  rationalis,"  Dialectica,  p.  952.  Cf.  "Philosophiae  species  tripartita 
est  una  naturalis,  quae  Graece  physica  appellatur,  altera  moralis  quae 
Graece  ethica  dicitur ;  tertia  rationalis  quae  Graeco  vocabulo  logica 
appellatur,"  Etymologiarnm,  op.  cit.,  p.  141. 

(2)  Alcuin  believed  Augustine  was  the  author,  as  is  evident  from 
his  citation  in  cap.  10  of  Dialectica:  "Augustinus  magnus  orator  filius 
illius." 


88  THE   LETTERS   OF   ALCUIN 

those  found  in  the  pseudo-Atignstinian  work,  but  they  are 
discussed  in  just  the  same  way  and  at  times  in  identical 
language.^  Nor  is  Alcuin  any  more  original  in  the  last  part 
of  the  treatise,  where  he  once  more  reverts  to  Isidore  as 
his  source  in  his  discussion  of  the  "topics"  and  the  "periher- 
menies,"^  Thus,  Alcuin's  proud  boast  made  in  the  intro- 
duction to  the  effect  that  "he  had  brought  treasurers  of  wis- 
dom from  over  the  sea"^  was  not  without  foundation. 
These  treasures  were  not  his  own,  however,  nor,  to  do  him 
justice,  would  he  have  claimed  that  they  were.  In  conclu- 
sion we  may  say  that  a  study  of  the  Rhctorica  and  the  Dia- 
lectica  goes  far  to  prove  that  while  the  reign  of  rhetoric  was 
over  in  Alcuin's  day,  the  mediaeval  rvginie  of  dialectics 
had  not  yet  begun.  Nevertheless,  inferior  as  Alcuin's  trea- 
tises on  these  subjects  were,  it  would  seem  that  the  Dialec- 
tica  must  have  played  a  great  part  in  promoting  the  study 
of  logic  in  Europe,  by  reason  of  the  number  of  his  pupils 
and  the  influence  he  exerted  over  them.* 
y  The  quadrivium,  (or  mathematical  subjects),  consisted 
of  arithmetic,  geometry,  music  and  astronomy.  In  com- 
parison with  these,  the  trivium  was  considered  child's  play.' 
While  secular  education  was  by  no  means  restricted  to  the 
study  of  the  latter,  there  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  the 
quadrivium  was  much  more  essential  to  the  clergy  than  to 
the  laity. .  Arithmetic  and  astronomy  were  particularly  in- 
dispensable   for   computing   the   correct    date   of    Easter.* 

(i)  For  a  comparison  of  citations  from  the  two  works,  see  Mon- 
nier's  Alcuin,  p.  48.  (2)  The  "topics"  is  based  on  Isidore,  cap  30, 
Migne,  Vol.  LXXXII,  pp.  151-153;  that  on  the  "perihennenies"'  is  based 
on  cap.  27,  Migne,  LXXXII,  p.  145. 

(3)  Dialectica,  Migne  CI,  p.  951.  Cf.  Carmen,  77,  M.  G.  H.  Poet. 
Lat.  Med.  Aev.  I.  p.  298. 

(4)  Cf.  P.  Abelson,  Seven  Liberal  Arts,  p.  80,  note  I. 

(5)  Bonifatii,  Ep.  3.     Jaffe,  op.  cit.  Ill,  p.  33. 

(6)  Charles  insisted  on  his  clergy's  knowing  how  to  calculate  the 
dates  of  church  holidays  and  to  arrange  the  calendar  for  the  year.  Cf. 
Adtnonitio  Generalis,  C,  72,  M.  G.  H.  Leg.  Sect.  II,  I,  60.  Cf.  "Quae  a 
presbyteris  discenda  sint,"  c.  8,  Ibid.  I,  p.  no. 


ALCUIN   AS   A    TEACHER  89 

Alcuin  bore  witness  to  this  and  at  the  same  time  complained 
that  mathematics  were  ahnost  entirely  neglected  in  his  day.^ 
However,  thanks  to  the  personal  interest  and  earnest  efforts 
of  Charles,  much  progress  was  made  in  these  subjects.^ 

Alcuin  himself  wrote  little  on  the  quadrivium.  So  far  ^ 
as  arithmetic  is  concerned,  it  is  just  possible  that  he  re- 
garded it  as  so  indispensable  a  part  of  education,  that  he  did 
not  think  it  worth  while  to  write  upon  it,  unless  to  explain 
some  of  its  special  or  difficult  phases.^  It  is  certain  from 
Alcuin's  description  of  the  school  at  York  that  he  knew 
enough  of  arithmetic  to  teach  the  subject,*  It  does  not 
seem  likely  that  he  went  beyond  the  simple  operations  of 
addition,  subtraction  and  multiplication.^  These  were  con- 
ducted by  means  of  finger  reckoning  and  the  reckoning 
board,®  on  which  munini  or  calculi  were  used.''  It  does 
not  seem  very  probable  that  he  knew  the  abacus  or  the 
apices,  inasmuch  as  these  did  not  come  into  general  use 
until  after  Alcuin's  day.^ 

The  only  arithmetical  work  ascribed  to  Alcuin  is  his  pos- 
sibly spurious  Proposifiones  ad  acucndos  juvenes.     These 

(i)  "Obprobrium  est  grande,  ut  dimittamus  eas  perire  diebus  nos- 
tris."    Ep.  148,  p.  239. 

(2)  Charles  brought  "computists"  from  Italy.  Nota  ad  aiinales 
Lanriss,  a.  787,  M.  G.  H.  SS.  I,  171.  Compare  Ep.  126,  145,  Einhart,  Vita 
Caroli,  0.25,  M.  G.  H.  SS..II. 

(3)  Cantor,  ]M.,  Mathematische  Beitrage  ziim  Kulturlehen  der  Vbl- 
ker,"  p.  286. 

(4)  Versus  dc  Sanctus  Ehorac.    Ecclcs.  v,  1445,  et  seq. 

(5)  Cantor,  M.,  Vorlesnngen  iiber  Gcschichte  der  Mathematik,  Vol. 
I,  p.  839.  Ball,  W.  R.  R.,  A  Short  Account  of  the  History  of  Mathe- 
matics, p.  125. 

(6)  Friedlein,  G.,  Die  Zahhcichen  und  das  Elcmcntare  Rcchnen  der 
Griechcn  und  R'dmer  und  dcs  Christlichen  Abcndlandcs,  vom  /ten  bis 
i^ten  Jahrhundert,  p.  50.  Hankel,  H.,  Ziir  Gcscnichte  der  Mathematik 
im  Altertinn  und  Mittelalter,  p.  309.  Computus  vel  loquela  digitoriun, 
Bede,  Aligne,  Vol.  XC.  p.  295. 

(7)  Ep.   I49>  P-  243- 

(8)  Hankel,  op.  cit.,  p.  317.  J.  Cajori,  A  History  of  Elementary 
Mathematics,  p.  112.  Cantor,  however,  thinks  that  Alcuin  may  have 
had  some  knowledge  of  the  "apices."  He  bases  his  opinion  upon  two 
references  {Ep.  133  and  P'ersus  de  Sanctus  Eborac.  Ecclcs.,  v  1445)- 
Cf.  Cantor,  op.  cit.,  p.  839. 


90  THE   LETTERS   OF  A ECU  IN 

are  problems  or  rather  riddles,  designed  to  entertain  or 
please  the  reader.^  Some  of  them  are  soluble  by  algebraical 
and  geometrical  means ;  others  are  insoluble  save  by  an  ex- 
ercise of  wit  and  of  dialectics.  To  the  latter  class  belongs 
•  the  problem  of  the  wolf,  the  goat,  and  the  cabbage-head." 
In  some  of  the  problems,  Alcuin  is  the  immediate  imitator 
of  the  Romans,  the  indirect  imitator  of  the  Greeks.'  Thus 
the  famous  problem  of  the  hound  and  the  hare,  and  the 
equally  noted  one  of  the  will,  as  well  as  many  others,  came 
down  to  him  from  the  Greeks  and  the  Romans.*  A  slight 
study  of  the  problems  shows  us  that  even  if  Alcuin  be  their 
author,  the  mathematicians  of  his  day  knew  little  more  than 
addition,  subtraction,  multiplication  and  division.  They 
appear  to  have  had  some  knowledge  of  square  root  and  of 
fractions,  but  they  knew  no  geometry,  save  a  few  useful 
formulae  for  practical  purposes  in  measurement,  while  in 
algebra  they  did  not  go  beyond  simple  equations. 
y^  Alcuin  put  arithmetic  to  a  use  other  than  of  the  ordi- 
nary one  of  computing  Easter.  After  the  example  of 
Augustine,  Cassiodorus,  and  Gregory  the  Great,  he  applied 
the  theory  of  numbers  to  the  explanation  of  Scripture.  He 
knew  how  to  find  a  significance  in  every  number  used  in 
the  Bible,  and  he  strongly  recommends  that  all  clerics  be 
educated  in  the  "science  of  numbers. "^  In  his  treatment  of 
numbers,  he  classifies  them  as  perfect  and  imperfect.  Thus, 
six  is  a  perfect  number  because  it  is  equal  to  the  sum  of 
its  divisors,  one,  two,  three,  whereas  eight  is  a  defective 
number,  being  greater  than  the  sum  of  its  divisors,  one, 

(i)     Cajori,  op.  cit.,  p.   113.     Cantor,  op.   cit.,  p.  835.     Hagen,  H., 
An  tike  und  Mitteliiltcrlichc  Riitsclpocsie,  2nd  Edn.,  pp.  29-34. 

(2)  Problem  18,  Migne  CI,  p.  1149. 

(3)  Cantor,  M.,  Die  Romischcn  Agritncnsorcn  und  Hire  Siellung  in 
der  Gcschichte  dcr  Fcldmcsscrkunst,  pp.  143-144. 

(4)  Cf.  Problems  19  and  26,  ibid.,  pp.  11 50,  1155. 

(5)  Alcuini  Exposit.  in  psalm.    Fonit.  pracf.   ad  Arnoncm,  Migne 
C,  p.  573- 


ALCUIN   AS   A    TEACHER  91 

two,  four,  and  he  goes  on  to  explain  that  the  number  of 
beings  created  by  God  is  six,  because  six  is  a  perfect  num- 
ber, and  God  created  all  things  well.  Seven,  likewise, 
being  composed  of  one  and  six  is  a  perfect  number.  And 
he  adds  that  God  completed  the  creation  in  six  days  to 
show  that  he  had  done  all  things  well.^  An  even  better  ex- 
ample of  his  science  of  numbers  is  in  Epistle  260,  where  he 
deals  with  the  numbers  from  one  to  ten,  and  explains  their 
significance.  "As  there  is  one  ark,"  says  Alcuin,  ''in  which 
the  faithful  were  saved  amid  a  perishing  world,  so  there 
is  one  Holy  Church  wherein  the  faithful  may  be  saved, 
though  the  sinners  perish ;  and  as  there  was  one  flight  of  the 
children  of  Israel  through  the  Dead  Sea  to  the  promised 
land,  so  there  is  one  baptism,  through  which  alone  one  may 
attain  to  eternal  life."^ 

A  knowledge  of  astronomy  was  quite  as  important  as 
arithmetic  in  computing  the  date  of  Easter.  King  Charles 
did  much  to  promote  the  study  of  this  subject;  his  letters 
to  Alcuin  not  only  attest  his  desire  to  have  a  correct  calen- 
dar,^ but  they  also  evince  a  genuine  liking  for  the  subject 
itself.  Astronomy,  in  fact,  became  a  sort  of  fad ;  the  ladies 
of  the  court  took  it  up.^  Alcuin's  book,  the  De  cursu  et 
saltu  liinw  ac  hissexto,  dealt  merely  with  the  astronomy  of 
the  computus ;  but  it  is  quite  evident  that  he  knew  a  great 
deal  more  of  the  subject  than  the  mere  technical  skill  re- 
quired in  calculating  Easter.  To  begin  with,  Alcuin  was 
familiar  with  Bede's  Book  De  Natura  Rcrnm,  that  cosmo- 


(i)  _  Likewise  three  and  four  are  also  perfect  numbers,  the  first  be- 
cause it  represents  the  Trinity,  the  second  because  it  stands  for  the  four 
parts  of  the  world,  or  the  four  cardinal  virtues,  or  the  four  Gospels. 
Cf.  Comcnintary  on  Apocalypse,  Migne  C,  p.  1130.  Commentary  on 
Genesis,  ibid.,  pp.  520-521.    Cf.  Ep.  81. 

(2)  Ibid.    Cf.  Cajori,  op.  cit.,  p.  113. 

(3)  Epp.  145,  456,  155,  170.  Einhard,  Vita  Caroli,  op.  cit.,  cap.  25. 
IM.  G.  H.  SS.  Vol.  II,  p.  456.  (4)  "Noctibus  inspiciat  caeli  mea  filia 
Stellas."    Carmen,  26,  v.  41,  M.  G.  H.  Poet.  Lat.  Med.  Aev.,  I,  p.  246. 


92  THE   LETTERS   OF   ALCUIN 

graphical,  cosmological  encyclopedia/  It  was  a  compre- 
hensive text-book,  giving  instruction  in  such  things  as 
chronology,  the  course  of  the  sun,  moon  and  stars,  the 
changes  of  the  season,  meteorology,  climate,  and  geography. 
And  we  have  it  on  record  that  Alcuin  himself  studied  these 
things  at  York.^  Moreover,  he  knew  enough  about  as- 
tronomy to  go  beyond  Bede  to  Pliny's  Natural  History^ 
whose  second  book  he  asked  Charles  to  send  him.^ 

The  remaining  members  of  the  quadrivium,  music  and 
geometry,  may  be  dismissed  with  a  word.  The  latter  was 
practically  neglected  until  the  eleventh  century.*  It  dealt, 
not  so  much  with  geometry  as  we  understand  the  term, 
as  with  mensuration,  geography  and  kindred  subjects. 
Thus  it  taught  how  to  find  the  area  of  triangles,  rectangles 
and  circles  by  the  same  formula  of  approximation  which 
the  Egyptians  and  Boethius  had  used.^  And  it  would  seem 
that  it  taught  something  of  the  size  and  form  of  the 
earth,  of  the  disposition  of  land  and  water,  of  zones,  tides, 
and  eclipses,  together  with  some  natural  histoiy.^  As  for 
music,  it  was  indispensable  for  the  services  of  the  church, 
and  as  such,  was  one  of  the  most  important  of  the  quad- 
rivium. Charles  did  much  to  promote  it  in  the  monastic 
and  cathedral  schools  ])y  bringing  singers  from  Rome,  and 
by  establishing  special  schools  to  teach  the  chant.''  Alcuin 
paid  special  attention  to  the  teaching  of  singing  at  Tours, 

(i)  Werner,  Bede  dcr  Elirzi'urdigc,  p.  93.  Cf.  Monumcnta  Gcr- 
mania  Paedogogica,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  5.  Wattenbach,  GeschichtsqucUcn, 
p.  130. 

(2)  Versus  dc  Sanct.  Eborac,  Ecclcs.,  op.  cit.,  vv,  1430-1445.  Ep. 
155,  P-  250. 

(3)  Ep.   155,  p.  250. 

(4)  Specht,  Unterrichtszvcscns  in  Deutschland,  p.  144. 

(5)  Alctiini  propositiones  ad  accuendos  juvenes.  Migne,  CI,  pp. 
1143-60. 

(6)  Versus  de  Sanct.  Eborac,  Eccles ,  op.  cit.,  vv.  143Q-1445. 

(7)  Additavi.  EugoUsm.  ad.  ann.  Lauriss.  maj.  a.  788,  M.  G.  H.  SS. 
I,  pp.  170,  171.  Cf.  Chronic.  Moissiac.  ad.  a.  802,  M.  G.  H.  SS.  I,  p. 
306. 


ALCUIN   AS   A    TEACHER  93 

and  is  said  to  have  written  a  book  on  music  which  has 
disappeared.  Throughout  his  period,  music  was  more  of  a 
speculative  science  than  an  art. 

As  a  teacher,  Alcuin  had  ample  opportunity  to  carry  on 
his  great  work  under  circumstances  which  were  calculated 
to  make  him  the  most  potent  educational  force  of  his  day. 
York  was  the  educational  centre  of  England,  Tours  was 
one  of  the  oldest  and  greatest  monasteries  of  France,  while 
the  Palace  School  was  the  capstone  of  Charles'  educational 
system.  It  was  Alcuin's  good  fortune  to  teach  in  all  of 
these  places.  The  system  of  education  planned  by  Charles, 
and  partially  carried  out  by  his  bishops  and  archbishops, 
made  provision  for  elementary  and  secondary  instruction  in 
a  parish  school,^  presided  over  by  the  parish  priest.  Next 
came  the  monastic  or  cathedral  schools,  which  likewise  fur- 
nished elementary  instruction;  though  in  some  cases,  they 
also  gave  instruction  in  the  higher  branches  of  learning. 
Over  them  w^as  the  abbot  or  scholasticus  appointed  by  the 
bishop.  At  the  head  of  the  system,  intended  in  a  measure 
as  a  model  for  the  lower  schools,  stood  the  Palace  School.^ 

The  origin  of  this  school  which  thus  occupied  an  unique 
position  in  the  system  of  Charlemagne  has  long  been  a 
debated  question.^  It  would  be  idle  for  us  to  enter  into 
a  discussion  of  it  here.  Suffice  it  to  sayjhat  it  seems  safe 
to  conclude,  that  the  Great  King  gathered  around  him  the 
noble  youths  of  his  kingdom — youths  destined  for  high  pre- 
ferment in  church  or  state,  and  that  these  youths  consti- 
tuted the  Palace  School ;  that  furthermore,  Ihe  school  hold- 


(i)  Admonitio  Generalis,  a.  789,  c.  72.  M.  G.  H.  Leg.  Sect.  II,  i, 
p.  60. 

(2)  Epistola  Ltttcris  Colcndis,  ibid.,  I,  p.  79. 

(3)  For  the  origin  of  the  Palace  School  see  the  following:  Mullin- 
ger,  p.  68,  footnote  3;  Hauck,  II,  p.  121;  Monnier,  pp.  56-59;  Lorenz, 
p.  23;  Werner,  p.  22;  Denk,  Gallo-Frankischcs  Unterrichts  tiiid  Bil- 
dungszvesen,  p.  246;  Specht,  Geschichtc  des  Untcrriclitszvcsen  in 
Deutschland,  pp.  3-5,  18,  together  with  authorities  there  cited. 


94  THE   LETTERS   OF   ALCUIN 

ing  its  sessions  wherever  the  King  had  his  court,  fulfilled 
a  noble  purpose  in  fitting  such  young  men  for  their  life 
work,  through  the  agency  of  the  greatest  teacher  of  his 
time.  There  can  be  little  doubt  but  that  Charles'  well- 
known  penchant  for  well  educated  servants  in  church  and 
state,  brought  many  aspirants  for  his  favor  to  the  Palace 
School.  Consequently,  as  he  was  aiming  to  produce  states- 
men as  well  as  churchmen,  he  desired  Alcuin  to  instruct 
the  pupils  of  the  school  in  something  more  than  the  chant, 
the  reading  of  Latin,  and  the  calculating  of  Easter.  Fur- 
thermore, the  latter  not  only  did  impart  to  his  pupils  the 
practical  knowledge  that  fitted  them  for  preferment  in 
church  and  state,  but,  as  he  himself  proudly  states,^  he 
also  gave  them  instruction  in  all  those  branches  of  knowl- 
edge that  had  come  down  from  the  Romans. 

The  Palace  School  was  composed  of  the  royal  family, 
the  young  nobles  and  officials  of  the  King,  together  with  all 
those  who  sought  position  and  preferment,^  the  only 
avenue  to  which  lay  in  compliance  with  Charles'  wish  that 
they  should  first  fit  themselves  for  it  by  education.^  Gun- 
drada,  together  with  other  ladies  of  the  royal  family,  were 
present,  lending  grace  and  brightness  to  that  charmed 
circle,  the  Round  Table  of  the  Franks,  as  it  might  ht  called. 
And  of  course,  the  Round  Table  would  not  be  complete 
without  its  Arthur,  the  mighty  Charles,  whom  Alcuin 
sometimes  designates  as  Solomon,  because  of  his  wisdom, 
though  more  frequently  he  calls  him  David  on  account  of 
his  warlike  prowess.*  To  the  members  of  this  circle,  their 
teacher  gave  new  names,  partly  in  accordance  with  cus- 
tom, partly  as  a  reminder  that  they  were  going  to  begin  a 

(i)  Alcuini  de  Studiis  in  aula  regia,  Carmen,  26,  M.  G.  H.  Poet.  Lat. 
Med.  Aev..  I,  pp.  245,  246.     (2)     Einhard,  Vita,  cap.  19. 

(3)  Capitularies  22,  38,  43,  116,  117,  also  Monach.  Sangall.  Book 
I,  cap.  3.  M.  G.  H.  SS.  II,  p.  732. 

(4)  Epf.  229,  231,   143. 


ALCUIN   AS   A    TEACHER  95 

new  life,  entirely  different  from  that  warlike  and  barbar- 
ous one  in  which  they  had  been  nurtured/ 

With  such  a  coterie  of  friends  and  pupils,  ranging  in 
age  from  mere  youths  to  men  experienced  in  council  and 
war,  Alcuin  had  no  easy  task.  It  must  have  been  particu- 
larly difficult  to  interest  and  instruct  such  a  heterogeneous 
circle  to  the  benefit  of  all.  And  yet,  for  fourteen  long 
years  he  ministered  to  the  needs  of  his  different  pupils 
with  unwavering  enthusiasm  and  tireless  energy.  While 
he  instilled  the  rudiments  of  knowledge  into  the  minds  of 
the  youth,  he  also  found  time  to  direct  the  studies  and 
solve  the  difficulties  of  the  older  members  of  the  circle. 
They  studied  the  Seven  Liberal  Arts,  paying  special  atten- 
tion to  the  studies  of  grammar  and  rhetoric,  seeking  to  per- 
fect themselves  in  elegance  of  expression  by  a  careful  study 
of  the  masterpieces  of  the  ancients."  At  times,  however, 
he  grew  weary  and  a  little  restive,  under  the  constant  ques- 
tioning, the  not  infrequent  baiting  to  which  he  was  sub- 
jected. Thus,  questioned  by  one,  cross-questioned  by  an- 
other, the  old  man  sometimes  doubled  in  his  tracks,  and 
made  mistakes.  This  he  admitted  long  afterwards  when 
at  Tours.  "The  horse,"  he  quaintly  remarks,  "which  has 
four  legs  often  stumbles,  how  much  more  must  man  who 
has  but  one  tongue  often  trip  in  speech."  To  such  vexa- 
tious experiences  were  superadded  the  tiring  journeys  of 
the  court  and  the  interruption  of  his  studies  due  to  his 
abbatial  duties,  all  of  which  made  the  old  scholar  often 
long  for  the  peaceful  seclusion  of  the  cloister.  This,  in  a 
measure,  he  was  to  obtain  as  Abbot  of  Tours,  whither 
Charles  sent  him  to  reform  the  monks  and  possibly,  also, 

(i)  "Saepe  familiaritas  nominis  inmutationem  solet  facere;  sicut  ipse 
Dominus  Simonem  mutavit  in  Petrum,  et  filios  Zebedei  filios  nominavit 
tonitrui,"  Ep.  241. 

(2)     Ep.   172. 


96  THE   LETTERS   OF  ALCUIN 

to  establish  a  school  which  would  serve  as  a  model  for  the 
other  monasteries  in  Frankland.^ 

Alcuin  assumed  the  task  \vith  great  zeal.  The  monas- 
tic school  at  Tours  as  well  as  those  elsewhere  had  greatly 
declined.  Since  these  w'cre  the  main  outfitters  for  the 
parish  priest,  Alcuin  felt  that  it  was  high  time  for  reform. 
He  regarded  the  monastic  and  cathedral  schools  as  neces- 
sary to  perpetuate  a  priesthood  which  would  be  able  to  de- 
fend the  doctrines  of  the  Catholic  Church  and  defend  her 
ritual.  And  the  troublous  condition  of  the  times,  together 
with  the  fate  of  learning  in  his  own  country  of  Northum- 
bria,  may  well  have  made  him  anxious  as  to  the  outlook 
in  Frankland.  His  letter  to  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury 
admonishing  him  "to  promote  learning  among  the  house- 
hold of  God,  teaching  the  youths  to  study  the  books,  and 
to  learn  the  chant  so  that  the  dignity  of  the  church  may  be 
upheld,""  probalDly  represents  the  position  w^hich  he  would 
have  the  monastic  and  cathedral  schools  in  Frankland 
/Occupy. 
l/  The  instruction  imparted  in  Alcuin's  school  at  Tours  was 
necessarily  more  in  accordance  with  the  traditions  of  the 
church  than  that  which  he  had  dispensed  as  Master  of  the 
Palace  School.  True,  he  pursued  the  same  studies,  but  in  a 
narrower  spirit,  taking  as  his  model  his  old  school  at  York.* 
He  himself  describes  what  he  taught  at  Tours,  and  how  he 
directed  his  pupils.  *Tn  accordance  with  your  exhortation 
and  desire,"  he  writes  to  Charles,  *T,  your  Flaccus,  strive 
to  minister  unto  some  of  the  Brotherhood  at  St.  Martins, 
the  honeys  of  Holy  Scriptures;  others,  I  seek  to  inebriate 
with  the  old  wine  of  the  ancient  Scriptures;  others,  I  am 
beginning  to  nourish  on  the  'apples  of  grammatical  sub- 

(i)  "Equus,  quattuor  habens  pedes,  saepe  cadit ;  quanto  magis  homo, 
unam  habens  linguani.  per  vices  cadit  in  verbo?"  Ep.  149.  Cf.  Carmen, 
42,  M.  G.  H.  Poet.  Lat.  Med.  Aev.,  op.  cit.,  I,  pp.  253,  254. 

(2)     Ep.  128,  p.  190.     Cf.  Epp.  31,  226. 


ALCUIN   AS   A    TEACHER  07 

tlety;'  others,  again,  I  try  to  initiate  into  the  mysteries  of 
the  stars."  ^  He  taught  the  Liberal  Arts  at  Tours  as  he 
had  taught  them  at  York  and  at  the  Palace  School.  Nat- 
urally, however,  a  school  whose  chief  purpose  was  to  pre- 
pare priests  for  the  church  would  emphasize  the  teaching 
of  grammar,  the  study  of  the  Scriptures  and  the  Fathers, 
the  learning  of  the  chant,  and  the  art  of  copying  and  illu- 
minating the  manuscripts.^  That  was  the  program  for  the 
majority  of  the  pupils;  a  few  of  the  older  and  more  ma- 
ture, however,  studied  in  addition  astronomy,  the  "science 
of  numbers"  together  with  philosophy,  or  as  Alcuin  terms 
it,  "the  acute  disquisitions  of  the  wise  men  on  the  nature 
of  things."  ^  Some  of  the  most  advanced  pupils  who  en- 
joyed his  confidence  and  affection  were  made  companions 
in  labor,  collecting  and  verifying  patristic  citations  for  his 
controversial  works.*  , 

Alcuin  was  very  much  at  home  in  Tours.  He  was  en-  •^ 
gaged  in  the  vocation  of  teaching  for  which  he  was  best 
fitted.  He  worked  along  traditional  lines  after  the  model 
of  the  cathedral  school  at  York.  We  cannot  conceive  of 
his  tolerating  at  Tours  those  irregularities,  digressions,  in- 
formal discussions  and  excursions  into  all  sorts  of  unbeaten 
paths  which  had  vexed  his  patient  soul  while  teaching  in 
the  Palace  School. «  We  may  be  sure  that  he  followed  in 
his  own  classes  that  advice  which  he  had  given  to  his 
friend  Eanbald  of  York :  "Provide  masters  both  for  the 
boys  and  the  clerks,"  says  he,  "arrange  into  separate 
classes  those  w^ho  practice  the  chant,  those  who  study  the 
books,  and  those  who  do  the  copying."^  Such  a  division 
gave  each  one  the  work  for  which  he  was  best  fitted,  while 
it  also  made  for  discipline. 

(i)     Ep.  121,  pp.  176-177,  translation  by  West,  f.  66. 

(2)  Carmen,  93,  Die  Scola  et  Scliolasticis,  M.  G.  H.  Poet.  Lat.  Med. 
Aev.,  op.  cit.,  I,  pp.  319-320.     Cf.  Ep.  121. 

(3)  Gaskoin,  op.  cit.,  p.  193.         (4)     Ep.  149,  P-  244-      (5)     Ep-  II4- 


98  THE   LETTERS   OF   ALCUIN 

J  Alcuin  would  tolerate  neither  idleness  nor  levity.  In  that 
same  letter  to  Eanbald  he  wrote :  "Let  each  class  have  its 
own  master,  so  that  the  boys  be  not  allowed  to  run  about 
in  idleness,  nor  engage  in  silly  play."  ^  The  pupils,  more- 
over, were  to  be  punctual ;  the  "Admonitio  juvenum" 
urged  the  boys  to  open  their  eyes  immediately  when  the 
bell  rang  for  matins.^  Another  inscription  over  the  door 
of  the  school  recommended  the  students  to  be  diligent,  and 
the  masters  to  be  indulgent.^  Thus  was  justice  tempered 
with  mercy.  Alcuin,  himself,  though  he  knew  how  to  be 
firm,  was  very  sympathetic  and  at  times  playful  in  his  at- 
titude towards  his  pupils.  His  inscription  over  the  dormi- 
tories wishing  his  boys  sweet  repose  in  the  name  of  One- 
who  never  slept  is  a  veritable  benediction.* 

In  other  respects  Alcuin  was  a  modern,  nay,  a  model 
teacher.  His  definiteness  of  aim,  his  efforts  to  arouse  in- 
terest, and  to  awaken  the  imagination,  his  ability  to  adapt 
himself  to  his  pupils'  needs,  his  high  idea  of  learning  for 
its  own  sake,  all  are  admirable.  Yet  it  was  his  personality, 
his  sympathy  for  his  pupils,  his  untiring  efforts  in  their 
behalf,  above  all,  the  force  of  his  own  example,  which  were 
the  most  potent  factors  in  giving  him  an  ascendancy  over 
their  hearts  and  minds.  The  enthusiasm  with  which  they 
studied  under  him,  the  veneration  in  which  they  held  him, 
the  loyalty  with  which  they  followed  the  narrow  but  safe 
path  of  tradition  which  he  had  marked  out  for  them,  leave 
no  room  for  doubt  as  to  his  pre-eminence  in  his  day  as  a 
scholar  and  teacher.  His  name,  his  methods,  became  a  tra- 
dition ;  a  hundred  years  afterwards,  an  ardent  admirer  gave 

(i)  "Habeas  et  singulis  his  ordinibus  magistros  suos,  ne,  vacantes- 
otio,  vagi  discurrant  per  loca  vel  inanes  exerceant  ludos  vel  aliis  inanci- 
pentur  ineptiis,"  Ep.  114,  p.  169.  Cf.  "Non  per  campos  discurrentes"  et 
seq.,  p.  168.  (2)  Carmen,  97,  M.  G.  H.  Poet.  Lat.  Med.  Aev.,  I,  pp.  321,. 
322. 

(3)  Carmen,  93,  ihid.,  pp.  319,  320. 

(4)  In  Dormiturio,  Carmen,  96,  ibid.,  p.  321. 


ALCUIN   AS   A    TEACHER  .  99 

him  the  palm  over  Priscian  and  Donatus/  Even  before 
the  end  of  Charles'  reign  his  influence  is  discernible. 
Leidrad  of  Lyons  had  established  his  schools.  The  one, 
the  "scola  cantorum,"  prepared  many  teachers  of  the  chant, 
while  the  other,  the  *'scola  lectorum,"  made  considerable 
progress  in  the  study  of  the  Scriptures.^  Under  Theodulph 
of  Orleans  the  liberal  arts  were  being  studied  and  many 
beautiful  as  well  as  accurate  manuscripts  produced.^  Arno 
of  Bavaria,  too,  maintained  cathedral  schools,  founded  a 
library  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  books,  and  established  a 
chronicle.  At  Corbie,  likewise,  and  at  St.  Riquier,  where 
Alcuin's  pupils  Adalhard  and  Angilbert  lived,  as  well  as  at 
Metz,  Fleury,  and  St.  Amands,  there  was  a  wonderful 
revival.*  \ 

And  so,  unimportant  as  the  educational  works  of  Alcuin 
appear,  mediocre,  ill-digested  as  his  learning  undoubtedly 
was,  yet  by  reason  of  his  own  untiring  enthusiasm  and  the 
splendid  loyalty  of  his  pupils,  he  was  enabled  to  effect  a 
real  renaissance  in  Frankland.  Though  he  added  nothing 
to  the  world's  knowledge,  he  assimilated  the  learning  of  his 
predecessors  in  such  measure  that  it  was  the  more  securely 
transmitted  to  future  asfes. 


(i)     Notatio    Nothkeri,    Duemmler,    Formelhuch    des   Bischofs    Sa- 
lomo,  p.  72,  quoted  in  Gaskoin,  p.  245,  note  3. 

(2)  Leidrad,  Ep.  30,  M.  G.  H.  EpistoL,  IV.,  p.  543. 

(3)  M.  G.  H.  Poet.  Lat.  Med.  Aev.,  op.  cit.,  I,  p.  544. 

(4)  Hauck,  op.  cit.,  II,  p.  196,  and  authorities  there  cited. 


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VITA 

The  author  of  this  dissertation,  Rolph  Barlow  Page, 
was  born  at  Concord,  Ontario,  Canada,  on  December  i  ith., 
1875.  He  graduated  from  the  UniveFsity  of  Toronto  in 
1897,  with  the  degree  of  A.  B.,  obtaining  honors  in 
Modern  Languages  and  History,  In  190 1,  he  obtained 
his  degree  of  A.  M.  from  the  same  University.  During 
the  years  1902-04,  he  was  Scholar  and  Fellow  in  Euro- 
pean History  at  Columbia  University,  where  he  studied 
History  and  allied  subjects  under  the  Faculty  of  Political 
Science.  From  1904  to  1909,  he  has  been  instructor  in 
History  and  Civics  at  the  High  Schoolof  Commerce,  New 
York  City.  In  addition  to  the  above  dissertation,  the  au- 
thor has  written  an  essay,  entitled  Life  and  Times  of 
Chaucer.  This  was  published  in  the  Report  of  the  Ontario 
Educational  Association  for  1901. 


LOAN  DEPT. 

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